Holiday Cheer
by goldpiece
Summary: After getting into a minor accident, Temperance meets a nurse who is struggling to provide Christmas for her kids. Genuinely moved, Temperance decides to help the woman, and learns what the true spirit of the holidays is about with the help of her friend
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, yes, I've begun another story. This one is a round robin with Tozzyoby. I hope you enjoy, and if you haven't read her wonderfuls tory called Lilly, then please do so.

The snow fell lightly over Washington DC, blanketing the city in a comforting layer of white. Temperance Brennan, however wasn't enjoying the winter wonderland. She sighed as she waited for the doctor to finish setting her wrist. The very white stuff making the city beautiful was the very cause of her being in the hospital. The ground was just too icy.

She sat with her good arm folded across her lap protectively. She was cold, fed up and willing the doctor to increase his frustratingly slow pace so that she could finally get to the Lab. The doctor's speed, coupled with his Christmas cheer that rivaled Angela's, was enough to make Brennan certain that next year she would ensure she was out of the country.

"We'll just let this set, and you'll be ready to go," the doctor chirped. He left the room, and Brennan gave a small sigh of relief. Finally, she could think on her own. The moment was short lived as a young nurse, probably no older than Tempe herself, came in the room. The nurse looked tense, with her spine held straight, and her eyebrows knit together. She looked over the chart left by the doctor before meeting Tempe's gaze.

"Once that sets, I'll just need you to sign this paperwork and you can go."

"Sure." Tempe replied, tucking a loose strand of hair, peppered with congealed blood, behind her ear. The nurse smiled weakly and began to walk back out of the room. Tempe noted that her body language indicated extreme exhaustion and her whole demeanor suggested she was emotionally overwrought. Out of genuine concern and before she had realized that words had escaped her own mouth, Tempe asked "Is everything ok?" The nurse stopped walking and turned slowly to face her. As silence filled the room Tempe sought to fill it and she did so with her usual blunt appraisal of the situation

"It's just that I noticed you have all of the indicators of having a problem, the tenseness in your spine, the tightening around your eyebrows." The nurse looked at Temperance and before she could stop herself, she found herself beginning to cry.

"I'm just so exhausted, ' the nurse said. "I've been working so hard to provide for my kids, but..." She threw herself into Tempe's good arm, and the anthropologist could do nothing except provide a half hug to the distraught young woman. Somewhat unnerved by the strange situation in which she found herself, Tempe simply rubbed circles on the nurse's back soothingly. She purposely mimicked behaviors she had observed Booth adopting when comforting someone in distress. Running through a mental checklist of his behavior she realized that it was relatively essential to determine exactly what was upsetting the woman in front of her.

"You, um, have children?" The nurse looked up from the now dampened shoulder of Temperance, and gave a small laughing sob.

"I have two beautiful kids, twins. Haley and Alex." She started to cry again. Tempe sighed softly. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"You said you've been trying to provide for them." Tempe stated, merely thinking things out loud. "The fact that you use the word trying suggests that you don't consider yourself successful," Tempe ventured, her hand instinctively moving to smooth the nurse's hair.

"No, no I haven't succeeded" the nurse sobbed her heartbreak evident. "Despite all my hard work they don't have a home, they have a mother who is always working and never there for them, and now, well now they won't have a Christmas. What kind of mother am I?"

"No home? What do you mean?" Tempe felt the sobs of the nurse beginning to subside. Apparently, caressing her hair was calming her down.

"My husband left me a few months ago, and without his income, I couldn't pay rent, so we had to move into a motel. Only, it's more expensive than I thought, and I can't get my bills caught up, so I don't have any money to spend on my kids for Christmas."

"Hey, I'm sure your kids know you love them. They can see how hard you're working. Don't underestimate their capacity to understand the world around them."

"It's just Christmas is such a big deal at their age, you know?" the nurse asked as if the answer was evident in her question. Tempe's brow furrowed as she thought through the importance of Christmas.

"You know." Tempe sighed, "Christmas isn't accurate in terms of its relation to Christianity. In reality it is only celebrated now so as early Christians could celebrate at a time of pagan festivities."

"You don't have kids do you?" the nurse asked, a smile on her lips for the first time in Tempe's memory.

"No, I don't."

"Christmas, as I see it is a time for giving, without expecting anything in return. I give to my children, but would never expect anything from them. The whole deal with the decorations, and Santa Claus, it's meant to provide joy to kids, and now, I can't even do that." The nurse fought off the next round of tears as they threatened to fall. Tempe paid attention to the nurse's rationalization and gave genuine thought to it.

"I'm sure that your children are glad simply to have a mother that cares this deeply about them. Plenty of children don't have a parent there for them. Your children are very lucky." Tempe asserted, her mind clouded with images of every Christmas since her parent's disappeared.

"Thank you. It's just so hard, you know? I don't want them to be disappointed."

"I'm sure they won't be. They know it's hard right now. They'll help you through as best they can." Tempe offered the woman a smile, then looked up as her partner, Seeley Booth rushed into the room. He stopped at the scene before him, unsure how to react to Temperance comforting the distraught woman.

"Um, do you want me to come back later?" Booth asked his eyes flitting from his partners watery eyes to the nurses tear stained cheeks. Tempe opened her mouth to answer but the nurse interjected

"No, we're all done here. Dr. Brennan just has to sign these charts and she's good to go." The nurse stood up and began to walk towards the door. "I'll leave you in peace and come back in five minutes ok?" she asked, her embarrassment evident.

"Yeah no problem" Tempe smiled, her mind reeling from the mornings events. As the nurse passed Booth in the doorway Tempe called out "I didn't catch your name."

"Sarah Jenkins." The nurse forced a bit of a smile before leaving the room. Booth looked at Temperance and shook his head.

"Why is it every time I leave you alone, you make some woman cry?"

"I didn't make her cry Booth I just..." Brennan began before Booth crossed the room and interrupted her.

"You just said something characteristically blunt and made the poor nurse cry, and during the holidays." Booth tutted and shook his head jokingly.

"It's not that. She's having a really hard time. I only asked if she was okay, honestly. And I didn't make her cry. She did that on her own." Tempe said, a bit hurt as she signed the appropriate paperwork.

"And what exactly is she having a difficult time with?"

"I'd rather not get into that, thanks."

"Okay." Booth sighed, pushing both hands in to his pockets and rocking on his heels.

"You didn't have to come down here you know. I would have been fine on my own."

"Yeah you seem to be doing a great job on your own."

"That's not fair Booth. It's not my fault the roads were so icy. I'm lucky I only have a broken wrist."

"Yeah, and a ton of crusted blood in your hair. What happened?"

"The other driver lost control of their car."

"You sorted out all the insurance stuff right?" Booth nagged.

"No Booth I left the scene of the accident without getting any contact details."

"No need to be snarky Bones, sometimes when people are in shock they don't react in their normal way."

"Booth, you have known me long enough to know that it will take a little more than a minor car accident to send me in to shock." Booth smiled at Brennan knowingly and she rewarded his charm smile with one of her own.

"Okay, I'll grant you that one. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just as soon as Sarah comes back. I want to make sure she's okay."

"You're really concerned about her, aren't you?"

"Booth, if you could have heard her earlier. She's really upset." Brennan paused and sucked in a long hard breath. Out of concern, Booth rested his hand on her shoulder and began to rub small circles. A small smile graced Brennan's lips as she realized he was employing the same moves she utilized earlier. Whether he put it in words or not his actions let her know his concern.

"Booth, how do you know what to do to help someone?"

Booth frowned for a moment and looked at his partner. "I don't know, Bones. It's just instinct I guess." Brennan opened her mouth to ask another question, but closed it when Sarah returned. The young nurse seemed to be in better control of her faculties as she checked over the paperwork.

"Okay Ms. Brennan, you're all set to go, and thank you, you know, for earlier."

"It was nothing, really."

"Well thank you anyway." Sarah smiled, her eyes conveying the sentiment of her words. "Now you look after her." Sarah commanded, her voice directed at Booth.

"I will do." Booth reassured her his hand innocently rising to stroke the back of Brennan's head. Brennan fought the urge to point out that she didn't need looking after but bit her tongue, much to Booth's surprise, for Sarah's benefit. Sarah smiled at the two of them before leaving again. Temperance hopped from the examination table and walked out with Booth, his hand firmly in place on the small of her back. As they walked silently through the hospital hallway, she turned to look at her partner.

"Booth, why is Christmas so important to you, I mean besides the religious reasons."

Booth was rather taken aback by the amount of advice Tempe had sought from him in the last few minutes. He decided that it would be foolish to question her in what seemed to be a moment of vulnerability an instead contemplated his answer thoroughly.

"Well, to me Christmas is about family. It is about being with the people you love and finding ways to show them how much you love them."

"What, by buying them presents?" Brennan questioned innocently

"Uh, yes and no. No one should ever be alone during the holidays. I get Parker gifts at Christmas, not as you always say to be the dominant one in the group, but because I know he'll like them. My reward is the look of joy that comes over his face when he opens whatever it is that I got for him."

"So you buy him presents to make yourself happy too?" Booth's face broke into a lopsided grin at the way in which the concept of giving and receiving was so lost on his partner.

"Giving does make me happy Bones, but mainly this is because I can make the people I love happy. Making someone's Christmas isn't always about gifts it can be about just making the time to be with someone." Brennan nodded taking in Booth's words.

"But if you for some reason couldn't provide a present for Parker you would be upset?" As they stepped out into the cold of the day, Bones shivered. Booth took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders as he contemplated her question. Tempe, for her part was completely surprised by his action, but decided not to comment on the gesture. Finally, as they reached his SUV, he answered her.

"Yeah, I would be upset. Being able to provide nice things for Parker is really important to me, and to not be able to would upset me. I'd feel like I'd let him down somehow."

"I suppose it is natural for parents to seek to fulfill their children's wishes. Even if they are driven by the media and popular culture's commercialization of a religious holiday." Booth opened the door for Brennan and she stepped in surely, enjoying the relative warmth of the car. Booth jogged round to his side of the car, rubbing his hands together to keep warm. As he jumped in to the vehicle smiling, Brennan realized just how lucky she was to have a friend like Booth.

"Thanks for picking me up Booth."

"Anytime, Temperance." He smiled at her, then started up the car, praising God for the heat coming on almost immediately.

XxXxX

Cam paced along the examination platform of the Jeffersonian's medico-legal lab in a bit of a mood. Her lunch with Booth had been cut short when he'd received a call. He hadn't said what the call was about, just up and left.

Sadly, for the unsuspecting Zack, he was about to catch the brunt of Cam's foul mood. He crossed Cam's path, offering her a smile as he made his way to exit the Lab. In a voice that made her sound like a teacher interrogating a naughty child, Cam called after him

"Where do you think you are going Zack? Lunch is over" Zach turned to face her like a deer caught in headlights, and began to fumble his way through an explanation.

"Well Dr. Saroyan, I skipped lunch today so I could get to the mall this afternoon to pick up gifts for my family. It's so crowded during the lunch hour I thought it prudent."

"Well, that'll have to wait. The workday isn't over yet. I'm sure you have things to be working on."

"Of course, Dr. Saroyan." Zack mumbled as he returned to his workstation. Cam looked around irritably, noting that Hodgins and Angela were working, but Dr. Brennan was nowhere in sight. She frowned, wondering if that was the reason for Booth's hasty departure earlier.

Deciding to take the opportunity to ensure that the team was in line, Cam marched over to Zach and instructed him to get Angela and Hodgins and bring them to the platform. He sped away fearing any further wrath and was quickly back followed by Angela and Jack. They stood, looking at her expectantly as she watched in the distance Booth guide Brennan into her office, his arm lightly around her shoulders, before closing the door behind them. Those two are entirely too close for my liking, she thought before holding up a hand to the group.

"Wait here. As soon as Dr. Brennan can grace us with her presence, we'll have a little chat." With that, she left the platform and marched over to the office door. Angela looked from Zack to Hodgins with raised eyebrows. None of the three could resist, and moved to have a better look at the confrontation.

"Somebody's in trouble," Angela muttered as Cam entered the office, closing the door behind her.

"Would you like to explain to me where you've been Dr. Brennan?" Cam questioned in haste, too focused on the close proximity with which Booth and Brennan were sitting to each other to notice Brennan's injuries.

"Come on Cam, settle down. Bones was in a car accident, and I just went to the hospital to pick her up."

"Well that's all well and good Seeley, but I was talking to Dr. Brennan. Did you not think it polite to call us and let us know you wouldn't be in? You were able to call Booth. You couldn't offer the Jeffersonian the same courtesy?"

"Excuse me, but if you'd bothered to check your messages, you'd see that I did in fact call here." Brennan placed her hands on her hips, then winced as the movement bothered her set wrist. Cam took a second to look over Brennan, noticing the dried blood in her hair.

"Fine. Just get up to the platform. I have something to discuss with your team, just as soon as I talk with Seeley."

"You're ordering me out of my own office?" Brennan questioned in disbelief. Cam was about to respond but Booth thought it wise to stop the argument from escalating.

"Bones, please give me a moment with Cam. I'm sure that the squint squad need your assistance with something." Brennan didn't appreciate Booth and Cam using her office as a venue with which to have a private chat, however she trusted Booth and appreciated that he was trying to diffuse the situation. There was no winning with Cam, and logically speaking it would be a far better use of her time to help Zach with the newest set of remains for Booth than stay and argue with Cam. With one last look at Booth, she left her office, and headed for the examination platform. As cries of 'Oh, Sweetie!' drifted down from the platform, Cam and Booth just looked at each other.

"You left me alone at your place to pick her up from the hospital? You could have at least told me where you were going."

"Look, I'm sorry about that, okay? I was worried about her."

"She's a big girl, Seeley. She can take care of herself." Cam sighed and shifted her weight onto one foot. "Are you going to come with me for Christmas?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I'm supposed to have Parker Christmas Day."

"Well, can you reschedule?"

"What? No, I'm not going to reschedule. It's the only time around the holidays I get him."

"Well then obviously you've made up your mind."

"Why can't you stay in the area, maybe spend the day with us. He needs to get to know you, Camille."

"I've had these plans set for a month. I'm not changing them."

"I'm not giving up time with my son."

"Well then I guess we see where our priorities lay."

"I guess we do." Booth turned from the office and left, slamming the door behind him. The group on the platform turned at the sound, watching as Booth strode out of the lab. He paused for one brief moment to look at Brennan, a small smile on his lips. He raised a hand to offer her a parting wave, then left the building. All heads turned toward Tempe's office, and the squint squad watched as she looked from Booth to Brennan. The angry glare in her eyes said everything.

"No one gets off early this week. All work will be finished by the twenty third, and I don't care how long it takes you to finish it, now one leaves until it's done." With that, she stormed to her office. Leaving the group to wonder just what had happened in Tempe's office to make her so angry.


	2. Chapter 2

Temperance sat by the window in her apartment and looked out at the snow-covered street. Booth had dropped her off earlier, staying only long enough to ensure she'd be okay before leaving. With him gone, the apartment felt slightly oppressive. It was quite silent, and unable to stand the lack of sound, Tempe turned on her radio. Christmas music filtered into the apartment, but she didn't have the energy to change it. With a sigh, she made herself some tea, and then sat in the window, where she was currently seated. Her thoughts drifted back over the day, before finally settling on the nurse, Sarah Jenkins.

Her mind pondered Sarah's situation as snow began to fall lazily from the sky. The flakes danced across her vision before finally falling to the ground, their appeal almost hypnotic to her. Temperance leant against the cold window pain frustrated by her inability to either forget the nurse or help her. No application of logic was giving her an answer as to why this poor woman had so much to face in her life. Temperance briefly contemplated why some people, not even the kindest or most worthy people, seemed to have a blessed life.

Not that Temperance believed in blessings, but she did note the distinct existence of irony in terms of people often not getting what they deserve. It was this dichotomy that gave her work so much meaning, in her own mind. The job she and her team were able to do gave victims a voice, it gave them back the power, and it brought people to justice. The victims were no longer victims when they went to their grave; they were eternal winners rather than losers, or simply the lost. The question, she realized, was how to help Sarah get what she deserved.

Her mind wandered through the trails and byways of observations and experiences she'd had through the years, and it settled on a winter when she was thirteen. Her school was having a toy drive and she was helping to collect the donations to give to families with limited means. Her mother had been so proud that she was participating. Maybe that's what she needed to do know. Maybe she could help Sarah provide Christmas for her two children. But now, how to do it? She didn't really want Sarah to know. She had a feeling that the nurse would refuse help, that she would see it as charity.

With a nod of her head, Temperance was decided. She would find a way to help the nurse, and now, she just needed to work out the best way to go about finding out how to provide Christmas, which was nothing a little googling couldn't solve. Decision made Temperance stood gracefully, stretching out her tired limbs. She placed her un-drunk tea down and decidedly made her way towards her laptop. She grimaced momentarily as she attempted to type. Evidently her injury did not respond well to the motion of typing. Despite her pain, she soon fell into the familiar rhythm of research.

Site after site was perused as she looked for gift ideas, decorations, and the lot. There was so much she could do, it was almost overwhelming. With all of the information she was gaining, one thing became painfully obvious...she needed to find Sarah's address. No amount of googling was going to help with that! She contemplated calling Booth and seeing if his investigative skill could be put to good use in this case. After a few moments consideration she realized that for one, would be unethical. Beyond this she was sure that Booth would ask far too many questions for her liking.

This was something he didn't need to know about. After the anthropological fuss she made the year before, she didn't want him to know what she was planning. No, the only way she could possibly find out was to ask Sarah herself. With that resolved in her mind, Temperance called a cab company to have a taxi pick her up. Much though the idea was unappealing, she needed to get back to the hospital.

Temperance wrapped herself up in layers of clothes hoping to fight off the cold. As the Taxi arrived she dashed towards it desperate to reach the warmth inside. Nearly slipping over again she steadied herself and shrugged of the somewhat excited feeling she was beginning to have. As she settled herself in the back of the Taxi her cell began to ring.

"Brennan."

"Bones, it's me. I was wondering if you might enjoy some company this evening." Brennan cursed silently, and then pondered his offer. Maybe she could pump him for information, but do it in a way that would make him unaware of her intentions.

"Sure, I just have to pop back to the hospital. After that I can meet you at the Lab?" "Hospital? Is everything Ok? I can come and give you a lift if you want. How are you getting there? You know you shouldn't be driving." Beneath a forced frown, the smile in Brennan's eyes was evident. His concern warmed her heart equally as much as it annoyed her. "Booth I'm fine. I just need my cast adjusting slightly. I'm in a taxi now."

"Well do you want me to meet you? It's really ugly out."

"No, really, it's okay. Besides, it'll be faster for me to get to the lab. I'll see you in an hour, okay?"

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Booth."

"Well, just be careful."

A smile still on her face, borne from the familiarity of having someone to nag her, she exited the Taxi and made her way towards the hospital entrance. Passing through the automatic doors she felt a sudden rush of warm air. Momentarily she was stunned by the life she saw inside the hospital. Outside it was grey and lifeless. Although chaos, the hospital was, in an ironic way, almost more full of life. Temperance took in a deep breath, and stepped up to the reception desk. The woman behind the counter looked up at her in a bored manner.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Temperance smiled before answering.

"Yes, I'm looking for Sarah Jenkins."

"She's over there." was all the information Temperance received, alongside a finger waved in the direction of the coffee machine. Seeing Sarah she walked confidently over to her. As she approached she could see the evidence of tear tracks on Sarah's face. Her concern was immediate.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Temperance asked as she approached the nurse. Sarah jumped a bit in surprise, but upon seeing Temperance gave a weak smile.

"It seems my fairy godmother has returned." Brennan offered a small smile and guided Sarah over to some vacant seats. She said nothing, simply waited for Sarah to find the words. "I'm just being silly," she said, hanging her head in embarrassment. "I..." she continued, "I can't afford Christmas cards. Not proper ones. The kids want them to give to friends at school. They have been laughed at for not giving out cards." Brennan absorbed the new information, resting her hand on Sarah's.

"I'll gladly buy you some Christmas cards."

"No" Sarah said, shaking her head vehemently. "I don't need charity."

"Okay, then how about this...I have a friend that's an artist. I can have her make some cards for your children. She'd be only too happy to do it."

"Oh, I don't know," Sarah hesitated. Temperance offered her a smile as encouragement.

"Think of this as a Christmas gift to you. That's fair, wouldn't you say?"

"I have nothing to give you in return."

"Sarah, you have given me something already. You have been a very kind nurse."

"That's just my job."

"No," Brennan shook her head, "Your job is to be an efficient and thorough nurse, being kind is your choice, and one I appreciate. How many cards will you need?" Sarah opened her mouth to refute the argument, but really couldn't find a good one. After a moment of wordlessly opening and closing her mouth, she sighed.

"I need sixty. If that's too many, I completely understand."

"No, it's fine. Really."

"You're sure?"

"Completely. Now, if I can get your address, I can make sure to get them delivered." Tempe smiled at the nurse, watching as the hesitation faded from her eyes. Sarah smiled and nodded her head.

"Sure, I can give you that." She pulled out a pen and note pad from her pocket and scrawled down her address. She hastily handed it over to Brennan who grasped it almost as if it were a prize in her hand.

"Look I have to get back, my break is over."

"Ok." Brennan smiled.

"And look," Sarah began as she stood, "if you can't get those cards I understand. I really do. Thank you for listening to me."

"It's ok, and I will certainly get you those cards. I promise."

Sarah smiled, this time much more broadly, and left for her rounds. Temperance looked over the address before tucking it carefully inside her pocket. This was definitely a start, and little did Sarah realize, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Following a brief altercation, with a not so honest taxi driver, Brennan arrived at the Lab. She noted that Booth's SUV was already there waiting and no doubt Booth was sprawled across the couch in her office.

Fighting against the wind and snow, Brennan slipped and slid her way across the icy sidewalk and into the warmth of the lab. She patted her arms, huffing away the cold that settled over her. As she made her way to her office, she spotted Angela on the examination platform working on a sketch. With a smile, Tempe approached her best friend.

"I need a favor." Brennan said, getting straight to the point.

"And hello to you too Sweetie." Angela chastised jovially, turning to face Temperance with a wide smile.

"Sorry Ange, so um how are things?" Brennan asked, an obviously lame attempt at small talk. Her attempt amused Angela no end. Not because of it's lameness but rather because she had begun to attempt it. This change in character, she mused, was undeniably down to a certain Special Agent.

"Fine, aside from the mandatory overtime. Now, what can I do for you, Bren?"

"I need sixty holiday cards for some eight year olds." Angela's eyebrows shot up as she looked at her friend.

"What for?"

"To hand out."

"Bren, you do know that simply handing out cards to 8 year olds may make you seem a bit... a bit strange?"

"No Ange, not for me to hand out to eight year olds, for eight year olds to hand out."

"What eight year olds?" Angela asked, a question that Brennan kicked herself for not preparing for.

"They're for, uh, a friend's kids. When they found out I knew an artist, well, they asked if you could make them some." Thank God for a quick mind.

"Uh-huh. And when exactly do you need them by?"

"Um, as soon as possible?" Brennan offered her friend a weak smile. _Please don't let her interrogate me on this one_. Angela looked at her friend and shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine, sure, why not?"

"So you'll do it?"

"When do I ever say no to you, Sweetie?"

"Thank you Ange, I really appreciate it." With her own wide smile Temperance bounded down the steps towards her office. As she entered the room she was amused to note that Booth indeed had taken up residence on her couch. As he saw her come in he sat bolt up right and began interrogating her about how she was feeling and how it went at the hospital.

"I'm fine, Booth. Honestly. Now, you said something about company?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner."

"What about Dr. Saroyan?"

"I'm inviting you, as my friend, not her." Temperance contemplated him for a second, before offering him a smile.

"And what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that we could go to that little pub near Dupont circle." Shaking off her reservations Brennan nodded her agreement.

"Ok Booth that sounds like a good idea."

"Come on the, lets get going, it's awful out there." Booth nagged as he guided her gently out of her office and back towards the cold night air.

"Bye Sweetie." Angela shouted after them, amused by their closeness and intrigued by whatever Brennan was up to with children's Christmas cards.

"Bye." Brennan replied over her shoulder, a motion that led her to take another step even closer to Booth. "See you tomorrow."

"You too." Angela watched the pair leave with a grin plastered on her face. If Seeley Booth would only realize that Brennan was his for the taking, they could stop dancing around each other. Her night made, Angela began humming some Christmas tunes as she returned to the sketch.

Following the normal debate Booth convinced Temperance to let him drive. It was only once they both reached the parking lot that they remembered her injuries and the pointlessness of their argument. Secretly neither minded as after all. Banter was what made their friendship work so well.

As they climbed in the car, Booth glanced once at Tempe before pulling from his spot. "So, are you, um, going to North Carolina for the holiday?"

"No. I'll be here."

"Oh, so Russ is coming here then."

"No, he's spending the holiday with his girlfriend."

"So you'll be alone?"

"Yes, but I don't mind. I have to catch up on my writing anyway." She wasn't about to tell him of her plans. What she didn't expect was the curve ball her threw her way.

"No one should spend the holidays alone. Why don't you join me and Parker?"

"Oh Booth, you know I appreciate the offer but I'm not Catholic and I don't want to get in the way of your rituals." Booth threw a sideways smile her way

"Bones, just have a little holiday spirit ok? I'm not asking you to find God, simply to join me and Parker for Christmas dinner."

"Booth I, well I, um, it's father and son time. I don't want to intrude on that."

"Bones you won't be intruding you've been asked."

"But..."

"No buts. Just join us."

"I thought you were supposed to...What about Cam?"

"She's made it very clear where her priorities lay."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, will you join me, and I won't take no for an answer."

"Well that's not a fair question." Brennan sulked, slouching back in her seat, crossing her arms.

"So you'll come?" Booth asked hopefully.

"Will you leave the subject alone if I say yes?"

"Only if you mean it Bones. I want you to promise."

Temperance sighed before glancing out the window. "Fine, I promise I'll spend Christmas day with you and Parker."

"You mean it?"

"Booth, you just forced me to promise and now you're asking if I mean it?"

"Hey, I just want to make sure that you'll be there."

"Well since the chance of my being able to drive by then is slim to none, I would assume I'd have to rely on you for a ride. And if I'm relying on you, then obviously I'll have to be there." Each turned away from the other in an attempt to conceal their smiles. Perhaps Christmas with Booth would be nice, Temperance thought. She was sure she could work something out to allow her to both help Sarah and share Christmas with Booth.

"What does Parker want?" Temperance asked in a panic, with sudden realization.

"What? What do you mean?"

"For Christmas. What does he want for Christmas?"

"From you?" Booth clarified.

"Yes from me."

"Wow, geez Bones, you don't have to get him anything."

"If I'm joining you, then it's only fair that I give a gift to Parker. He, after all is used to the tradition, and for me to fit into your rituals, I need to get him a gift."

"Bones, I don't have rituals. Are you really sure you want to buy him something?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't we go look around after dinner."

"Sure, I mean if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all."

"Great."

"It's a date then." Temperance didn't listen to anything Booth said beyond him agreeing to go shopping with her. It was the perfect opportunity, she mused, to find out exactly what eight-year-olds would like. She would have to be careful in how she broached the subject, after all Parker was much younger, however the whole trip would help her to identify important aspects of Christmas. It would help her to remember the traditions she had forgotten long ago.

Booth dared a glance at her. When he said it was a date, he expected her to respond in some sort of negative fashion. He certainly didn't mean a date in that respect, but merely to spend time with her. But since she didn't respond negatively, or at all for that matter, maybe she wanted it to be a date. He began to suddenly panic.

Ok, he thought, he liked Temperance. He liked her a lot. But dating? That may be a step too far. A step too far for both of them. Surely she could not have wanted a date. After all it was all just biological imperatives to her. Booth calmed at that thought. BUT his mind cried out, she did try online dating to find a partner so she must want that to a certain degree.

But she's never shown interest in me. You idiot, of course she has. You've seen it before. How many times have you almost kissed her because she looked like she was okay with the idea? Hell, you almost kissed her just before Angela had to interrupt, and what did you do? You slept with Cam. You're an idiot, Seeley Booth.

Oblivious to Booth's internal struggle Temperance positively beamed at the way her plan was coming together. She would give Sarah and her kids the prefect Christmas. She was sure with Booth's help she would get the perfect gifts even if he didn't know he was helping. At that moment she was so overwhelmed with gratitude for his friendship. "Thank you," she said, not turning to face him but tapping him gently on the knee with her hand

If Booth had been standing, he would have jumped several feet in the air. Temperance pulled her hand away, thinking she had overstepped some bound, and was surprised when he grabbed it with his own. As he pulled to a stop at the light, he turned to look at her.

"You're okay with this," he asked, searching her expression.

"Absolutely. I think it's a great idea."

"Really? This is something you want?"

"Of course. I would have said so if it wasn't."

"Ok," Booth half said and half sighed, ultimately confused by the events of the last few minutes.

"Have I said something wrong?" Temperance asked, misreading the look on his face.

"No Bones, not at all. I'm just surprised."

"Surprised at me wanting to go shopping with you?"

"Well, under the circumstances..."

"Booth, we've known each other for how long? You know when I agree to something, I always follow through."

"No, I know. That's not what I...looks like we're here." he finished lamely. The light changed, and he turned into the parking lot of the pub. Temperance glanced at him for a moment before shaking her head. Something was going on, and she truly felt like she'd missed something.

Booth opened the car door for her as she had spent so long thinking, and he was getting cold waiting for her. "Come on then." Booth smiled weakly, a fact that wasn't missed by Temperance. He began to guide her inside but was surprised when she stopped and held his arm to halt him also.

"Something's the matter with you, and I want to know what it is."

"Nothing's wrong. In fact, I couldn't be happier."

"You don't look that way. You look nervous."

"You're not?"

"No, why should I be?"

"Because, well, never mind Bones. Look lets just leave it at that and enjoy a nice meal together ok?"

"If you're sure Booth." He began to pull away, but surprising both of them, Temperance held on.

"What?" Booth asked, concern flecked in his eyes.

"Nothing," she smiled wrapping her arm around his waist and allowing him to drape his arm around her shoulders. "I just want to make sure you're ok."

"Never better, Bones." He dropped a quick kiss onto her hair before they stepped into the pub. Tempe felt her heart pound a little faster. They were just going for dinner and shopping, right?

Sitting even closer than usual Temperance and Booth made small talk waiting for their meals to come. Inwardly Booth smiled at the thought that talk was in fact never small when it came to her. He watched her intently as she made some impassioned speech about cultural diversity, appreciating every detail of her face.

"Are you even listening Booth?"

"Of course."

"It didn't look like you were." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. She'd been trying to lead up to a conversation about what cultural diversity could mean when it came to holiday rituals in an attempt to get his input, but that just didn't seem to be working. Instead, he sat there as if he were content to just stare at her all day.

"I was listening cultural diversity etc etc etc."

"Do you place any value on my thoughts Booth?"

"Of course I do Bones. Look I didn't mean to cause a fight. What were you saying?"

"Never mind. You obviously don't care."

"I do too. You were talking about cultural diversity, and then you asked if I was listening, which obviously I was if I know what the subject matter was." Tempe's head was spinning a little. What he'd said made no sense whatsoever.

"I was just saying that different cultures tend to have different expectations when it comes to the holidays."

"Yes they do. But I am sure you know better than most that most festivities have a common underlying message that relates to family and togetherness."

"I suppose they do. In an ever-homogenizing world, dominant mores have a tendency to spread across countries and religions even. If you look at Christianity for example..."

"Bones," Booth interrupted, "Can we leave the Christians alone for once?"

"But this is mostly about Christians. I mean, they took these pagan rites and holy days, making them their own in order to convert the native populations..."

"Which obviously worked, or the church wouldn't have spread the way it did." The waiter finally brought their food, and Booth willingly turned toward his plate of Shepherd's Pie. Temperance remained almost oblivious to the food in front of her.

"So where do the Christian traditions at Christmas come from?" Booth laid his fork down on his plate and grimaced slightly.

"Which Christian traditions, Bones?"

"All of them; the presents, the tree all of that Christmas stuff." She said awkwardly. "Bones, you know the tree doesn't come from Christians directly. What are you really asking?"

"How do you celebrate Christmas?"

"Well, generally I decorate my apartment with Parker's help, and I get him presents, then when he's asleep, Santa comes to visit, and puts presents under the tree and in his stocking. Then, in the morning, Parker wakes up at the butt crack of dawn, runs downstairs after waking me up, and rips open all of the presents. Then we go to Mass, and have dinner."

"Booth, I'm not five, you don't have to tell me about Santa Claus. I know he's..."

"There are kids around, Bones. Cut me some slack here."

"I know his role in the ritual." Brennan countered

"Tradition" Booth corrected.

"Either way, what I mean is what is the significance of the presents? What do they represent? I mean should it be personal?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whom you are buying for."

"Well for Parker what sort of things would you choose and why?" Booth took another bite as he contemplated the question. Finally, when he couldn't stand the intense stare he was receiving any longer, he turned back to Temperance.

"I always try to get him something really cool, something I know he'd enjoy. That way, he knows I took the time to think about him. It shows how much I care."

"So, in the rituals that you follow..."

"Traditions."

"Whatever. Your traditions are predicated on Parker's possible worry that you don't think of him enough?"

"Yes." Booth sighed, deciding any elaboration would just serve to prolong the awkward conversation.

"So it is based on an analysis of his needs and the role you consider to be fulfilled by you as a father." Booth simply nodded as he continued to eat.

"So if your children had little and you were concerned about your effectiveness in your role as the provider this would be combated with a multitude of extravagant gifts if money became available."

"Sure, yeah, of course." Booth looked over at her again and watched as she nodded to herself. He wondered briefly about what was going on in her head, but decided it best to not ask. The word extravagant, coming from her, was a bit scary.

"Children?" He responded in a delayed manner.

"Children?" Temperance questioned entirely unsure of what Booth was trying to say.

"You said Children. You referred to my children, I have one child."

"I know Booth." she responded quickly, trying to cover her tracks. "It was a hypothetical scenario."

"Yes Bones it was, regarding the situation. Not the people however. You related it directly to me and family. At least that's how you presented it. I don't have children, plural. Unless you know something I don't." He smirked with a raised eyebrow, before adopting a genuine look of fear in case she did know something he didn't.

"Why would I know anything about that? You'd know more about your sexual forays than I would."

"How's about let's not go there."

"You brought it up."

"No, I didn't."

"You did Booth. Anyway it was just a mistake on my part. I apologize for saying children." Temperance smiled, raising her hands apologetically. "

"You don't make mistakes Bones. Something is going on and it involves children. Are you going to explain?"

She was quiet for a long time, and when she responded, it was very carefully. "I have some concerns about something, but for the time being I'd prefer to keep them to myself."

"Well, I'm always here if you need to get something off your chest."

"I know, and thank you for that." She smiled and placed a hand on his thigh.

"Are you pregnant?" Booth asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized that they were totally the wrong thing to say.

"No." Brennan snapped defensively, retracting her hand. "Why, do I look pregnant?" She asked, cursing herself silently for seeking reassurance about her physical appearance.

"No, no, of course not. You look...wow. I mean...you're structured nicely." God, why could he never just say the word beautiful? Brennan looked at him as he stuttered his response and smiled slightly, deciding to let the pregnant comment go for the time being.

"Ok, lets change the subject." Brennan offered, noting the look of relief that spread across his face.

"Ok." Booth smiled leaning forward and resting his hand on top of hers. Her eyes darted to his hand, and she could feel the warmth of his skin on hers. Slowly, she brought her gaze up to his, their eyes locking. Temperance swallowed slowly, unable to tear her eyes from his. Booth began to smooth his thumb over her hand and she relaxed instantaneously. Despite the fact that she was enjoying the closeness she could not forget the fact that she really needed to get going. They had a lot of ground to cover in terms of shopping. They had to make a move, she rationalized, before it was too late. In many senses of the term.

"We should, you know, get out and, um, start shopping." Temperance cursed at herself again for letting Booth get to her like this. Why his sudden need to be closer? Booth looked at her for a long moment before he smiled.

"Sure, we can do that."

"Great."

"No problem."

As they stood Booth put a few bills down to cover the cost of their meal. Bones objected but Booth was insistent and she opted not to hurt male pride any further. He gently helped her put her coat on and she was so busy enjoying the feeling she forgot to argue, or even think of arguing at all.

With his hand firmly in place around her waist, he led her from the pub, and out onto the cold streets of DC.

"Where do you propose we start?' he asked as they made their way to the SUV.

"Well, if we're supposed to shop for Parker, is there a toy store or something nearby?"

"I'm sure I can find something."

They drove a couple of blocks until they pulled up outside a massive toy store. A sudden wave of panic washed over Temperance as she realized the sheer size of the shop.

"This whole store is just Children's things?" she asked quietly.

"Sure is." Booth responded as he exited the SUV. Brennan followed and stuck closely to him as they entered the Technicolor of the toy store. Brightly colored toys of all sorts lined shelves and sat in bins. Television monitors advertised the latest and greatest things, while kids ran wild through the store, trying to find everything they wanted.

"How do you find anything in here?"

"You look for it. Sometimes, you need to search for what you want, and other times, it's right there in front of you." Somehow, Tempe didn't think he was talking about toys anymore.

"Ok, so what method should we employ so as to place limits on deciding upon suitable presents? Naturally it would be logical to look at all aisles. But I doubt that is achievable given..." She was cut of by a small child running in to her ankles. "Ow!" She exclaimed, conscious to avoid swearing.

"Are you ok?" Booth asked, pulling her close.

"Fine." she replied again very conscious of his proximity.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm..." she trailed off, nodding her head, but keeping her eyes on him. Booth looked at her, watching a steady blush creep over her face. They stayed that way until a squealing laugh brought them back. "I'm fine Booth." She affirmed, beginning to move away. Booth followed close behind, conscious of how uncomfortable she was in these surroundings. He just hoped her uncomfortableness had nothing to do with him. "As I was saying Booth. Limits. Can we look by age or gender?"

"Um, I never thought about it. Just look around, and if something catches your eye, go with it."

"I don't know..."

"...what that means?"

"No. I don't know what I'm looking for. I need parameters."

"Well Parker is 4, obviously he is male, and that's a start no?"

"Yes but what does than mean? I know developmentally he will have developed his basic reasoning skills and have a clear sense of self. Obviously he's a very bright boy but I want to get him something.. something.."

"Fun?" Booth offered, still beaming at the idea Temperance considered his son to be bright.

"Yes, fun, something he will enjoy."

"Then I suggest we start here," Booth said as he pointed down one of the aisles. Temperance looked and was amazed to see the sheer number of toys made especially for children of Parker's age. If they had this much for a four-year-old, how much more would there be for an eight year old? She suddenly felt much more overwhelmed than she had before.

"What sort of thing does he like?" She asked, picking up an action figure that was undeniably as anatomically incorrect as it could possibly be.

"Well he's very active so he likes things to do. Other than that it's just normal boy stuff."

"Which is..."

"You know Boy stuff."

"You'll have to give me an example."

"Don't you remember any of Russ' toys from when you two were kids?"

"Not really."

"Come on, Bones, you have to remember." He was getting frustrated. Temperance swept her eyes over the displays and thought back. A smile broke out on her face as the image of small cars and military action figurines filled her mind. There was something else as well.

"Transformers," she said, looking at Booth.

"Perfect." He said smiling, amused at the childlike expression that graced her features.

"Would he like that? Honestly?"

"Yes Bones, of course he will. Children are generally easily pleased. He'll just be grateful that you got him something."

"You think?" She questioned unsure.

"I know." He assured her fighting the urge to take her in his arms right then.

With a brilliant smile aimed at her partner, Temperance practically skipped off to find a transformer. Hopefully they still looked much like they did when she was younger.

Toy shopping finally done, and Tempe being tapped of questions for the moment, the two walked along a busy sidewalk in DC. Brennan didn't mind the fact that Booth once again had his arm around her shoulders and had her pulled in closely to his side.

"I love this weather." Temperance said, somewhat surprising and uncharacteristic in terms of her use of language.

"What, the cold, dark, dank evenings of DC in winter."

"No." she responded, elbowing him lightly in the ribs and prompting him to fake a hurt look. "I like the cold, wrapping up warm, that sort of thing."

"Sitting by a fire, curled up under a blanket..."

"Sipping hot cocoa and watching the snow fall." She smiled up at him. Booth offered her a smile, but the intent was different. He had that look again, the one that had been appearing all evening.

The moment was broken as the skies opened and snow flurries made their way to the ground. Laughing they ran hand in hand back to the SUV and jumped in hurriedly. Booth turned to face her as she sat rubbing her arms trying to get warm. She was still laughing, cheeks red, a twinkle in her eye. Booth leaned across and ran his hand down her cheek, brushing snowflakes from her skin.

She took in a sharp breath, and held it, wondering what his exact intents were. The anthropologist in her began to talk..._He's showing the classic signs of interest in a member of the opposite sex, and there are clear indicators that he wants to make a show of his interest._ Temperance watched breathlessly as he moved in closer to her. _See, he's expressing his desire for higher biological needs._

But, she thought, following through on this could lead to significant problems. Their partnership could be at risk; as such behavior would only serve to amplify his already dominant alpha male attributes. Such action would damage the fine balance they had established over the past few months.

But it could be so good too. Temperance searched her mind for the correct course of action, flipping through all pros and cons, and beginning to panic until his lips met hers. She felt his hand slip into her hair, and she couldn't help but respond to the action.

She raised her hand to stroke his cheek, enjoying the sensations of cold lips and warm tongues meeting, his hand on the back of her head urged her closer. Each of them feeling that they could not get close enough to the other.


	3. Chapter 3

Temperance walked through the doors to the medico-legal labs the next morning, her brow knit together in confusion. She looked around, taking in the details as she wound her way over to Angela's office. Camille was on the examination platform, frowning. When she looked up at Brennan, an incredibly sour expression overtook her visage. Deciding to take Angela's recent advice to "just breathe and smile" Temperance did just that. She sucked in a deep breath of familiar, sterile, Jeffersonian air and sent a beaming smile in Cam's direction. As Brennan entered Angela's office, Cam's expression turned from sour to utterly confused. Brennan walked decidedly into Angela's office and stopped directly behind the artist, who was recovering some images from a computer.

"Just a sec sweetie," she began only to be cut off by Brennan.

"Booth kissed me last night, but I don't want to talk about it." Angela turned and looked at her best friend, the recovered image immediately forgotten.

"Well, good morning to you too, and why did you tell me if you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm confused, Ange. Why did he kiss me? It's not like we were on a date or anything." Tempe sighed and flopped down into a nearby chair.

"Well..." Angela began, her voice soothing, her excitement tempered by genuine concern. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened."

"Angela," Temperance chastised, "I did not come here to brighten your day by giving you a dissection of events." Angela just pouted, shifting closer to her friend and waiting patiently for her to begin. Temperance rolled her eyes. This was how her best friend did it. She could coerce someone into saying anything just by looking at them.

"Fine. We were discussing Christmas rituals, had dinner, then went shopping for Parker. Did you know that there are huge stores dedicated entirely to toys? I had no idea of the variety of things you could find."

"Stay on topic, sweetie," Angela directed.

"That was on topic." Tempe complained, "You asked me to tell you exactly what happened, this is exactly." Angela simply adopted the breathe and smile approach, a tactic not missed for a second by Temperance. "Well we were shopping, we headed back to the car, it was snowing..."

"It was snowing." Angela sighed, resting her head on her hand a dreamy expression written across her face.

"It was snowing," Temperance repeated "We got to the car and... and he kissed me for no good reason. Ok, that's it. That's what happened. I have to go." Tempe stuttered making a move to bolt out of Angela's office. Angela wasn't going to let her friend go that easily. She bolted up from her seat and grabbed the forensic anthropologist's arm, effectively stopping her.

"Whoa, hold on there. That can't be all. He doesn't just kiss people for no good reason."

"How would you know?"

"Because I know men, and Booth is too much of a gentleman to just spring it on you. Now, what happened to the lead up? There had to be something. You said it was snowing." Again, the dreamy quality returned to Angela's voice. Tempe looked at her, unsure of what her friend expected her to say.

"Ange, I, I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me what happened right before he kissed you." Temperance hesitated, she searched Angela's eyes for reassurance and cast her mind back to the night before.

"Well, we had been talking about the weather. I said I liked winter weather and then it started to snow..."

"As if by magic." Angela sighed. Temperance ignored Angela's blatant romanticization of the situation and pressed on. After all, she really did need advice.

"So we ran to the car and once inside, Booth wiped some snow of my cheek that I couldn't see. Then he kissed me."

"Oh, that's so sweet, just like a movie," Angela began to grin, and seemed to be looking off into space. "Two people realizing they were meant to be..."

"Booth and I are hardly meant to be. We're partners."

"It's like fate giving you a little push."

"Angela, what do I do? This isn't like it was with Michael. Why isn't it like it was with Michael?"

"Because you love him."

"I most certainly do not." Temperance asserted almost before Angela had finished her sentence. Noting her slight faux pas in terms of the way in which she had explained things to her friend, Angela grabbed her hand and guided her to sit down before she tried again.

"Sweetie with Michael it was all lust and power, with Booth you, well you're equals."

"Michael and I were equals. I am equally as qualified. In fact, I think our most recent encounter would suggest that I am superior in terms of professional ability."

"Honey, that wasn't what I meant. I mean you and Booth you are like Ying and Yang, you just fit - you are complimentary."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Michael, you're all about what's up here." Angela pointed to her head before she continued. "Booth, he's all about the emotions, you know, how people feel. He's your opposite, and you know what people say about that. He's your complementary component. Understand?"

"I think so. But what about Cam?"

"Bren, don't even take a moment to think about her. If Booth is interested in you, then that's all that matters."

"But it's not what matters Ange, who said he was interested in me anyway?"

"I think the whole romantic shopping trip in the snow and the kissing thing may be a slight indication."

"Angela it was not a romantic shopping trip. It was a practical one. And the kiss thing doesn't have to indicate any long-term intention. We all have urges."

"Urges Bren? Urges? Seriously do you have to phrase it like that?"

"Like how? I'm just saying that higher primates are driven by their biological urges, and last night seems to be an indication of that."

"Does it now? So, if people are driven by their urges, then why didn't you two sleep together last night? I'll tell you why, because between the two of you, it would be more than just sex, and I'd be willing to bet you aren't ready for that, and he knows it."

"But..." Brennan began, "Hang on a second you said you."

"I said you?" Angela questioned, placing her hand over her heart.

"Yes, you said you."

"Well you," Angela said stressing the you "are making no sense."

"You said you are not ready for sex, not you both that implies that you think he is. He is?" Temperance questioned.

"Excuse the crudity with which I'm going to phrase this, but I see no other choice. That man has wanted to jump your...bones almost since the moment he met you. You, however, have made that quite a difficult task."

"I have not, and why do you think I'm not ready for sex?"

"Are you?" Angela crossed her arms and looked at her best friend. Temperance stared back for a moment before focusing her thoughts inward.

"Sex, yes Booth...no" she uttered shaking her head as she focused on a spot on the floor. "There is a difference isn't there?" Temperance half stated, half asked. Angela just smiled and moved closer to rub circles on Temperance's back.

"The difference, sweetie, is that you care a lot about him, and don't want to ruin a good thing, am I right?"

"Why am I so bad at emotions? I can't even tell what I'm feeling half the time."

"It's like I said before, you care too much. That's why you distance yourself. Whether you believe that or not is up to you, but just about everyone else sees it. Now, knowing that, I'll be kind and change the subject." Angela reached into a drawer of her desk and extracted a box. "I got inspired, so here are those cards you asked for."

"Oh Angela, they're beautiful," Tempe enthused, running her fingers along the detail of the cards. Each seemed to be totally unique and radiated a certain happiness and hope that Angela radiated on a day-to-day basis.

"Are you going to tell me who they're for yet?" Angela pried, hoping to get some indication as to why her best friend had been acting so evasive. Though, she rationalized, it may well have something to do with a certain FBI Agent. Temperance paused before meeting the eyes of her best friend. She still wasn't sure if she should tell anyone, and definitely didn't want Booth to know, but should she keep it from her best friend?

"They're for...a friend's kids. My friend is a little short on income currently and I wanted to help out a little."

"Well wonders never cease. Temperance Brennan is getting into the holiday spirit."

"I wouldn't go that far, Ange."

"Well if you're trying to help out, do you need any help?"

"I think I just might."

"Good, then we can discuss it over lunch, unless of course you've made plans with Booth."

"Lunch sounds great." Angela promptly stood and linked arms with her friend guiding her out of the office. "Ange, where are we going?"

"Lunch." Angela smiled as she danced her way towards the exit.

"Angela it is not lunchtime yet!" Tempe exclaimed tugging on her friends arm to get her to slow down.

"Oh, brunch then, whatever!" Angela laughed, amused by the look of worry on Temperance's face. "It'll be fine." she soothed rubbing Tempe's arm, but maintaining a steady course towards the outside world.

"But what about..."

"Would you ladies like to explain where you're going? I thought I made it quite clear that all work must be done by the twenty third," Cam said, walking down into their path. Angela looked at her best friend, who seemed to be battling with something. Finally, a grim smile came onto the anthropologist's face.

"I'm using a get out of jail free card. And rest assured, you've made your point quite clear."

"Dr. Brennan, I'm afraid you can't do that."

"But..." Tempe began, brought to reality by Angela strongly pinching her arm. "We had a deal Cam."

"Deal or no deal I am still head of this department and I am making the decision that we do not have time for your antics this time of year. The rest of us want to be able to go away and enjoy our Christmases. Just because you are happy to play scrooge does not mean this department will be dragged down with you. Have I made that clear?"

The two women stared at each other, neither wanting to back down from their position. Finally, Angela couldn't take the tension anymore and leaned over to whisper something to her best friend.

"It's not worth a fight, sweetie. We'll just go at lunch. Be the better woman, Bren." Tempe nodded her head and turned to her office. Angela caught the triumphant look on Cam's face and only shook her head in response.

Brennan stormed in to her office, flouncing down in to her chair sending a pile of files cascading onto the floor. Brennan simply groaned and let her head fall in to her hands. Things were getting far, far too complicated she decided. Her introspection was promptly interrupted by the ringing of her cell.

"Brennan," she said when she answered it, not bothering to look at the caller id.

"Morning, Bones. I just wanted to know if you had any lunch plans. I thought maybe you'd like to join me?" Tempe smiled at the sound of Booth's voice, even though he was the inadvertent cause of her current frustration.

"Sorry, but I've already agreed to meet Angela."

"Oh, okay, well what about dinner?"

"I doubt Cam will allow that!" Brennan stated, her bitterness evident.

"Why, what...what has Cam said?" Booth asked, trying to calm himself and discern enough information to figure out how to get out of the mess he was certain he was in.

"Well you know, she wants everything done 'by the 23rd'" she started, mimicking Cam's voice in a very un-brennan type action that only served to make Booth chuckle. "I'd better stay. It's that or be labeled the Christmas scrooge."

"Okay, then how's about a compromise?"

"What kind of compromise?"

"Why don't I bring over some take out and we can eat dinner over an autopsy table." Booth shook his head. And to think I accused her of doing that before. There was a long pause, and Booth wasn't sure if she was still there. "Bones?"

"Well if you're going to do that, then you'd better bring enough for everyone. Get Thai," she added as and after thought.

"Bones, Cam hates Thai. It might not be…"

"I know." Brennan cut him off, a distinct blush creeping across her features.

"Remind me never to make you mad Temperance."

"If I do that, then I'd be telling you all the time." Booth laughed at the blunt statement.

"All right, I'll see you this evening." As they both hung up the line, Temperance sighed a bit in relief. If there was one thing she could always count on, it was Booth's ability to put her in a good mood. With a lighter heart, she got up to retrieve the scattered files.

Lunchtime soon rolled around and Angela trotted spritefully up the steps towards her dearest friend. "Come on sweetie, get your coat and we can paint the town red!"

"I've never understood that expression.. Do you know its derivations?" Temperance asked stalling for time as she finished her examination of Zach's latest skull reconstruction.

"Quit stalling Bren, chop chop, time to go." she nagged in a sing song voice.

"Okay…" Brennan sighed, rolling her eyes. "Good work Zach." she reassured patting his shoulder with an open palm as she left.

"So... where are you taking me?" Angela asked, toying with her keys as she stood in the doorway to Brennan's office.

"We have to stop by the hospital to drop off the cards, and after that, if you have somewhere in particular you'd like to go..."

"No, nothing in mind, yet. Come on, before someone changes her mind and makes us stay for lunch." Brennan offered her best friend a smile before they left the building, cards in tow.

The trip to the hospital took less time than Brennan thought, and when they entered, the receptionist recognized Brennan and pointed vaguely down a hallway. Brennan and Angela shared a look and wandered in the vague direction in which they were pointed. There sat two little kids engrossed in a hushed conversation.

"We can't let mommy know, she'll be really upset."

"But we have to Alex. Teacher says everyone is going to bringing a present for secret santa - that means us too."

"No it doesn't we can't you know that."

"I know," the girl conceded. Brennan watched the children's body language, noting the slumped shoulders. These boys seemed so sad, clearly felt isolated. It reminded her hugely of time spent in the foster system.

Sarah rounded the corner, and Tempe noticed an immediate change in the body language of the children. "Have you two been behaving yourselves?" she asked the kids. They both nodded vigorously. The nurse smiled at them and jumped slightly when she became aware of Temperance and Angela. "Tempe, I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"Well, I just wanted to give you the cards I promised." Tempe smiled as she passed them to Sarah.

"Oh my," Sarah gasped, raising her hand to her chest. "Oh I can't accept these, they're too much, just too beautiful - little pieces of art." she pondered.

"They're for you." Tempe insisted. "Sarah, I'd like you to meet Angela, she's the one who created the cards." Angela smiled at Sarah and watched as she lovingly ran a hand over the faces of the holiday greetings. Without saying a word, she showed the cards to the two children.

"I felt so inspired by the season, you know, so each one is different." Angela smiled and shrugged when Sarah looked up at her, beaming.

"This truly is too much."

"Not at all. I was happy to do it." Sarah swiped at her eyes to stop the tears building there and placed her hands on her children's shoulders. "Haley, Alex, I'd like you to meet Tempe."

Haley and Alex immediately stood and stepped forward to greet the women before them. They may not have been rich in terms of material things but these children were rich in spirit and in manners. This fact was lost on either Tempe or Angela, who both stepped forward to shake the children's hands.

"These cards are for you." Sarah said, crouching down to show their splendid detail. "Angela made them especially for you. Isn't that awfully kind of her?"

"Thank you Angela," the two children said in unison, almost as though greeting a teacher in a classroom.

"Well, you're entirely welcome," the artist beamed. Tempe watched the scene, wheels turning in her head. If these two didn't want to tell their mother they needed secret santa gifts, then maybe she could help them.

"Sarah, are these two with you all day?"

"Yes." Sarah replied, slumping her shoulders and a distinct look of shame crossed her face. "The babysitter she.. well."

"Would they perhaps like to come and see a tour of the Jeffersonian?" Angela piped up

"Don't they have Dizzy Gillespe's trumpet there," Alex asked, excited.

"Yup, and a lot of other things as well. Would you two like to go?" Angela looked at Sarah, who seemed to be thinking it over.

"Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."

"Of course not. We wouldn't have offered otherwise." Tempe replied. Haley looked just as excited as her twin.

"Can we go?"

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, looking from Tempe to Angela and back to Tempe again.

"Positive." Tempe assured as Angela swept forward in a flourish to grab the hands of two, now very excited, children.

"We'll have a great time." Angela gushed, half for the children half for Sarah.

"What time do you finish your shift?" Tempe asked.

"Not until 9, is that too late? That's too late isn't it?"

"Not at all," Tempe smiled. "Can you pick them up from the Jeffersonian?

"Of course. Thank you so much, this means the world to me."

"No, it's our pleasure." Tempe looked down at the kids.

"Well, are you two ready to go?"

"Yeah!" With a grin, Angela and Tempe left the hospital, ready to baby-sit two excited eight year olds, not caring that Cam would most certainly be annoyed by that fact. In fact Temperance realized that she was feeling a certain sense of amusement at having found another way to irritate Cam. Since when had she become a vindictive person ? She smiled to herself.

"She deserves it." Angela said, leaning towards Tempe.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Sweetie you are my best friend. I know you better than you think." Angela concluded, with a suggestive wink.

That evening, Booth showed up with loads of Thai food. As he walked into the Medico-legal lab, he was shocked to hear the laughter of children, as well as the sexy sound of laughter coming from Temperance. He was utterly shocked to find her on the examination platform with two children as they raced a couple of Zack's beetles.

He hung back in the shadows silently watching the beautiful smile that graced his partner's face. He watched her eyes dart between the children and the affection that resided in the gentle way in which she patted their backs or stroked their hair. Suddenly the laughter stopped and Brennan had turned and seemed to be focusing on a bone fragment. Angela was ushering the children away in silence. Booth looked around to see the cause of this action. He noted that Cam was descending the stairs and heading right for Brennan.

"What is going on here, Dr. Brennan? Why are there children in the lab?" Temperance stood up to her full height, the smile gone and replaced with her usual look of cool indifference.

"They were learning about _dermestes maculates_ with Angela."

"Fine, if you're going to play the game that way. Why did you bring children into a secure lab, and I know it wasn't to look at beetles."

"Cam, hey.." Booth called, cracking his charm smile and bounding up the steps towards her.

"What Booth? Can't you see I'm in the middle of an important conversation?"

"I can see that Cam, but I would really like to talk with you, alone," he said, pulling her away from Brennan. Cam smiled happily in Brennan's direction and waltzed towards her office.

"Food's in your office." Booth mouthed to Brennan, winking at her over his shoulder.

"Thank you." she mouthed back with a smile, not sure whether to be grateful for his rescue, annoyed that he felt he had to or concerned at the jealousy that was coursing through her veins knowing he was with Cam. Brennan stood still, watching as her partner walked away with Cam. Angela looked at her best friend, then glanced at the door.

"I'm sure it has to do with the case, or something."

"I'm sure you're right," Tempe replied before turning toward the kids. "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving."

Booth shut the door to Cam's office after ushering her inside. He looked at the smug smile on her face and crossed his arms defensively. "Well, have you changed your mind," she asked, stepping closer to him. Booth backed off, and kept his distance from the pathologist.

"You want to tell me why you're being so hard on the team?"

"Seeley my managerial methods have zero to do with you."

"Camille," Booth stressed through gritted teeth "it has a lot to do with me when you affect the performance levels of the expert advisory team to the FBI."

"My effect on performance, Seeley is only positive. However you seem to pose a certain distraction for the good doctor. Maybe Cullen would like to hear about that."

"Distraction? If I recall, she's not the one being distracted of late. You on the other hand have done nothing but torment this team since Brennan got in that car accident. My gut tells me that has everything to do with me, and nothing to do with her."

"Don't flatter yourself, Agent Booth."

"And don't make idle threats, Dr. Saroyan." Lust in her eyes, clearly enjoying the exchange, Cam advanced towards Booth backing him up against the wall.

"What's taking Booth so long." Brennan whispered to Ange as they refereed the distribution of food.

"There's nothing to worry about Bren, it's you he wants." Angela reassured, handing Bren a plate full of food. Brennan scooped somein to her mouth and muttered "I'm not worried." She was certain Angela new otherwise. Booth entered her office and slumped down next to her. She noticed that his tie was disheveled and her stomach flipped.

"The things I do for you." he laughed, rolling his eyes as he leaned forward to grab a plate of food.

"What did you do?" Brennan asked, in a tone that neither Booth nor Angela could decipher.

"Nothing," he muttered, then stuffed a bite of food in his mouth to fend off the need to answer for the moment. Brennan looked up and out the glass of her doors to see Dr. Saroyan leaving with a satisfied smile on her face. Brennan looked from Cam to Booth, her mind working a mile a minute. When it reached the conclusion of her thoughts, she turned to Angela, her expression grim. "You're wrong Angela. You're completely wrong."


	4. Chapter 4

The negative atmosphere in the office was perceptible to all. Hayley and Alex sat in silence, reminded of family arguments from the past. Arguments where everything was said by the silence. Angela continued to chatter in a reassuring way, but everyone was uncomfortable. Brennan was lost, deep in introspective thought and Booth's mind was focused on Cam. He hoped that calling her bluff had been the right thing to do. At the time he had been certain, now he wasn't so sure.

"I heard there's food," Hodgins said, then paused in the doorway, feeling the oppressive mood sweep out into the room. Angela looked at him and offered a tight smile.

"Of course. Booth was kind enough to get take out. Have a seat," she indicated an empty chair as he and Zack both came into the room.

"So..." Hodgins began, his eyes shifting between Booth and Brennan. "this is awkward." he half whispered to Angela who simply gave a knowing smile in response. Neither Booth nor Brennan noticed the exchange, each focused on their own thoughts.

"Dr. Brennan, I've completed the tissue markers on Jane Doe 2873. I just need you to ok them before I proceed."

"Sure, of course, Zack. I'll just go take a look right now." With that, the forensic anthropologist left her office, the need to get some air was stifling. She took a breath as she made her way onto the platform, stepping into her scientist mode. It was ridiculous to get this worked up over Booth. They weren't together. Just because they shared a kiss... Brennan brought a hand up to her lips and smiled faintly before shaking off the expression. No, he was still with Camille, wasn't he?

As Brennan inspected the tissue markers she smiled. Zach had done a perfect job and she could not be prouder of his achievements. His logical approach provided her a valuable ally in the lab, one which she appreciated more than Zach knew. Her mind calmed by the procedural task at hand, she heaved a sigh as her thoughts returned to Booth. Could she really have misunderstood his intentions so greatly?

She wasn't the best at reading people, and she knew that, but with Booth, she always knew when something was bothering him. Stepping back from her feelings, she pulled up what she knew about him. He was catholic, so had strong moral beliefs, and hadn't he insisted on more than one occasion that he didn't cheat? But it wouldn't be cheating if we weren't on a date. No, he would never have kissed me if he were still involved with Cam. He'd probably consider that cheating. Besides, his tie was out of place, but there were no other signs of any physical activity. No, the indicators that he was still seeing Cam weren't there.

So, she wondered what had he been doing with Cam? After all Cam had come out of their meeting with a smile on her face. What could they possibly have done in there to make her smile in such a way? She might, Brennan thought, be smiling to cover up hurt and rejection. After all as the dominant female in their hierarchy she had to maintain her status. But that just didn't seem right. But Brennan could not rely on conjecture, on feelings. What was the evidence?

Cam had been about to fight with her when Booth arrived. How long had he been there, she wondered. He seemed to appear just when she needed him, a fairy god person if you will. Tempe smiled at the thought. It was such an irrational thing to think, but Booth's alpha-male protective qualities pointed that way.

The way he had winked at her as he had left with Cam indicated that he was communicating that his actions and intentions differed in some way; in a way that would benefit herself rather than Cam. He was fighting her battles for her again. And, she mused, he can't have fought them very well if Cam was left smiling.

What could they have been discussing? Did this have anything to do with her? If Cam knew that Booth kissed her, that could be troublesome for the pair of them. Temperance shook her head. She felt like she was delving into some sort of conspiracy. However, after examining the evidence, she found nothing, other than Cam's smile when leaving that indicated she had anything to be concerned about.

Slightly more reassured, she sat down on a nearby stool. She closed her eyes and sighed quietly as she absentmindedly rubbed her injured arm. When did things get so complicated? Caring about someone was the simplest thing in the world. Booth had once told her it was simple because it was not a choice. Loving someone is the choice and once you love that person the rest is easy. This was not easy.

"Hey, you okay?" Temperance opened her eyes to look at her partner as he scanned onto the platform. "When you hadn't come back, we were getting worried."

"I'm sorry," she replied, "I didn't realize I was out here so long."

"Is your arm bothering you?" Booth asked, concern evident in his voice as he closed the gap between them.

"No Booth I'm fine." She assured, half smiling as she deliberately moved her hand from her arm.

"If it's still hurting you will tell me right? It shouldn't be. Maybe you should go back and have it checked. If it heals badly you…" Brennan cut him off by placing her finger across his lips.

"I'm fine." she affirmed standing up steadily. "You worry too much." Before she removed her fingers, Booth kissed their tips lightly, sending a shock of unexpected warmth through her.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay..." Booth gave her one of his lopsided grins, glad to see that she had worked through whatever was bothering her.

"Now, I think we should go back to my office before the food gets cold." Tempe smiled at him and gave his arm a gentle squeeze before heading off the platform. Booth watched her for a moment, unsure whether he would ever figure her out.

Angela looked up to see Brennan reentering the office. She tried to catch her eye to determine what on earth had gone on, but to no avail. Brennan headed straight for the food and having served herself a sizeable portion, she sat cross legged on the floor chatting animatedly with Alex. Booth followed close behind but sat back on the couch watching Brennan with a lazy smile across his face.

Ah, the domesticity of it all, Angela thought as she watched the pair. Hodgins interrupted her thoughts as he began some tirade on not having good help nowadays. The artist looked at her beau with a confused expression.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Just that after the incident with the last nurse, I don't know if I trust going through a referral agency."

"Not all nurses are out to steal the family jewels, Jack." Angela smiled, winking at him knowingly. "Perhaps you're not offering sufficient benefits to retain staff. Had you thought about that?"

"Angela the Cantilevar group offer great benefits, accommodation, 30 days paid holiday a year, weekend support, all food catered for, we even allow spouses and children, what more could someone want?"

"Hodgins." Angela paused, a smile lighting up her features, "I think I know someone you would love to meet."

Temperance glanced over at her best friend, smiling as well.

"Really? Who?"

"Alex and Haley's mother, Sarah." The artist caught the eye of her best friend and winked. Hodgins looked from one to the other, a small bit of doubt creeping over his features. Alex and Haley, however were ecstatic.

"Mom's a great nurse," Haley exclaimed, excited.

"I'm sure she is." Hodgins half heartedly agreed glaring at Angela. "Not the kind of suggestion to make in front of the kids Ange. The group have strict specifications in terms of who is considered suitable." Hodgins reprimanded through gritted teeth.

"I could give Sarah a glowing reference." Brennan interjected "She'll be coming by shortly maybe you could ask her if she is interested then." "You want me to ask her to apply? Why me?" Hodgins complained, feeling bitterly like he had been railroaded.

"Because I said so." Angela retorted causing Booth to laugh at Hodgins' situation. His laughter soon ceased following a withering look from Brennan which gave Hodgins a laugh of his own.

"My, it sounds like you all are having a good time in here," came a voice from the doorway. All eyes turned there to see Sarah standing with a security guard. She looked bone weary, yet still had on a smile to greet her children. Alex and Haley immediately ran over to give her a hug. "Thank you again for agreeing to watch them."

"Not at all," Tempe smiled. She glanced over at Hodgins, who seemed to be eyeing the nurse critically.

Both children were excited to tell their mother of all the cool and exciting things they had learned that day. Amongst the excited chatter was talk of beetles and dinosaurs and how cool it was to work in a museum.

The others were silenced listening to the children recount their day. Each realizing that this day had been about the most exciting day they'd in years. Most children would complain at being dragged around a museum and left with little to do in Brennan's office. But these children were truly grateful.

Brennan smiled softly at the pair, unaware of the eyes that were watching her. When she heard Haley mention something about Kristy Yamaguchi's ice skates, she perked up. Maybe she could help out by inviting them on an outing. Sarah listened intently to her children, drinking in every word, and when they were done, she looked up at the group.

"Thank you so much for this, it truly means the world to me, and obviously to them as well."

"It's no problem." Temperance answered sincerely.

"Here have some food." Angela offered, passing her a plate filled with a range of delicious flavors.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly. You've done enough feeding my kids! How much do I owe?" she asked rummaging for her purse.

"Nothing." Booth answered. "Please, Sarah, it's on me, as a thank you for fixing my partners arm. In fact, on that matter she's still suffering with it."

"Booth!" Temperance exclaimed "I'm fine. Sarah I'm fine, he's just fussing." she explained whilst glaring at Booth.

"Let me have a look." Sarah offered moving to sit in front of Brennan. Hodgins watched with interest and catching Angela's eye he began, "Sarah, after you have had a look at that arm I have a proposition for you."


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I know it's been a while for something to be posted for this, but as my writing partner and I have time together currently, we decided that we needed to get something posted. I hope you like the chapter. We should have another one ready soon._

"A proposition?" Sarah looked over at Hodgins rather skeptically. He nodded and leaned forward, looking to engage her in the upcoming conversation.

"My family's company is looking for a new staff, and we currently have an opening for a registered nurse. I'd like for you to interview."

"I, well I don't mean to be rude but I'm not looking for charity here." Sarah replied, politely, but forcibly, her eyes flitting between Hodgins and Brennan.

"No Sarah, I ask as you have come highly recommended by my colleague. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone trustworthy to even interview, yet alone employ!"

She looked again between Brennan and Hodgins, unsure what to think. It was however the looks on the faces of her children that had her more convinced.

"And you're sure this isn't you feeling sorry for me?"

"Not at all. I'm looking for competent staff, and you seem to be great at what you do."

"Well, in that case," She began, her eyes focused on her children, "I would be most grateful for the opportunity."

"Well when are you free to interview?" Hodgins asked, sitting back, relaxed.

"Well other than tomorrow night I'm not free at all until the weekend. But if that's too difficult I understand."

"No, not at all. Saturday should work. I'll make sure that I have the appropriate people available." Sarah smiled, but it immediately dropped.

"What about...I can't without..."

"I'll take them ice skating. There's a great outdoor rink set up near the Mall we can take Haley and Alex to. Would you two like that?" Brennan looked over at the two kids. They were practically bouncing with excitement at the news. Their answer came as a mixture of babbles and shrieks encouraged by Angela's tickling.

"I suppose I can find the money for that." Sarah sighed, partly happy to see her children so excited, mostly worried as to where on earth she would find the money for ice skating.

"You don't need to worry about that Sarah." Brennan offered, conscious that everyone else's focus was on the children sufficiently enough for her offer not to embarrass Sarah.

"I'll find the money Tempe." Sarah assured, determined to stand on her own two feet. "You can't keep doing these things for me."

"This isn't for you Sarah. I'm doing this for them. Don't worry about the cost."

"I can't let you keep paying out of pocket for things."

"If you're insisting then don't worry about it until after the holidays. You have enough to concentrate on now."

"Ok." Sarah relented. "But I will pay you back after the holidays."

Brennan simply smiled and nodded in agreement, her understanding evident in her eyes.

"Ok, come on monsters, I think you have been enough trouble to these good people for one day." Sarah commanded as she began picking up the children's things.

"Oh Sarah, take some of this food will you?" Angela asked, as she began scooping food into sealed containers. "If you leave it all here I'm afraid the boys may get a little over zealous and we all know how that'll end up." She laughed, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey!" The boys complained in unison, as Angela and Brennan shared knowing glances.

"Oh I couldn't."

"Unless you want all this to end up in some weird experiment involving bugs and chemicals I suggest you take it," Booth replied, smiling in mirth. Brennan met his eye and he winked at her again.

"Fine. What time is the interview on Saturday, and where do I meet you?"

"Just be here about noon and I'll take you to the interview. That way Haley and Alex can be picked up from a known location," Hodgins said as he shook Sarah's hand.

"Ok," Sarah replied, returning his firm handshake, "And thank you, thank you all." She said, her words soft and full of emotion.

"No problem." Hodgins spoke for them as he moved to escort Sarah and the children out of the lab.

The children moved round Brennan's office in a flurry of goodbyes and rushed after there mother, their good natured chatter filling the lab.

"Well," Angela began, standing up and stretching her spine, "You and me Zach, have a date."

Zach looked up, fear written across his face, distinctly sure that he and Angela didn't have a prearranged date. In fact, he mused, he was sure Hodgins wouldn't take kindly to anything like that.

"What," he said, looking at the artist.

"Dude, relax. She just means that you're her date for ice skating while I'm interviewing Sarah. That is what you meant, right?"

"No, but I can go with that, in fact that is a great idea." Angela smiled coyly. "I hope you're as good at skating as I think you are wonderboy."

"Angela, are you flirting with me?" Zach asked, confusion written across his face.

"Yeah, Angela, are you flirting with him?" Hodgins interjected, hands on hips in an attempt to act cool.

"Oh stop it all three of you," Booth commented as he stood up. He glanced at Brennan and motioned to the door with his head. "I'll see you all on Saturday. Come on Bones, time to get you home."

As the pair walked away, Angela grinned. Booth placed his hand in the familiar place on Brennan's back, but quickly slid it to the side of her hip, drawing her a little closer to his side.

"What are you looking at?" Hodgins asked inquisitively, turning his icy glare from Zach to identify the cause of Angela's smile. "Oh baby, when did that happen?"

"When did what happen?" Zach chimed in, standing up to peer around Hodgins.

"You two are idiots, you know that, right?" Angela sighed, as she swayed across the lab towards her office.

"Why did she call us idiots Hodgins? I was merely trying to clarify what we were analyzing."

"Shut up idiot." Hodgins grouched, pushing Zach on the shoulder and rolling his eyes as he attempted to inconspicuously follow Angela.

"Angela called us idiots, and you asked when something happened. What did I miss?" Zack followed Hodgins, ruining his attempt at a quiet moment with Angela.

"Zack, if I have to explain it, it's not gonna be funny." Hodgins patted him on the shoulder before turning back to Angela's office.

"I don't know what that means." Zach sighed, taking up residence at the seat, by the computer, on the platform. Everything seemed to be getting so complicated around the lab these days, he mused.

XxXxX

"Bones, you know I'm really proud of what you've done for Sarah." Booth glanced at Brennan as he drove to her apartment.

"I haven't done anything. She's a nice person and deserves a little bit of happiness."

"Not many people would go to the lengths you are. Are you sure you aren't secretly Santa's little helper?"

"Booth, you know there's no such person a Santa don't you?" She teased.

"Ssshhhh" Booth hushed, placing his finger over his lips for emphasis. "He might hear you." Booth whispered as he leaned closer to her, bumping their shoulders together.

"Why do you get such joy from perpetuating a commercialized image of…" Booth ended her lecture early by placing his hand over her mouth. Instinctively she bit him causing him to withdraw his hand sharply and swerve slightly.

"Geez Bones, what was that for?"

"That wasn't very nice, covering my mouth like that. I simply wanted to know why you insist..." Booth pulled up to a stoplight and leaned in close to her. She stopped talking and blinked at his proximity.

"I insist on it because it's fun. And remember what they say about Santa. He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake."

"Well now that's just creepy Booth. Don't you think? Surely small children must…"

"He knows if you've been bad or good." Booth continued, not listening to a word she was saying.

"Booth stop singing." Brennan pleaded, trying to stop laughter from escaping.

"So be good for goodness sake." Booth commanded, wagging his bitten finger in her direction.

"Booth." Brennan said in a warning tone.

"Why, what are you going to do about it?" Booth grinned.

"Oh no, I'm not going to encourage you."

"That's because you like it, admit it."

"Your singing? I don't think so."

"Oh ouch Bones. That hurts. Here I am, trying to be charming and you go shoot me down. I see how it is."

"If I had a gun I could shoot you down. Unfortunately, as you well know, I have no gun. Which is probably a good thing for you right now."

"Try and hide it all you want Bones, I know you love my angelic singing voice."

"If that's what Angel's sound like I'm glad I'm not going to Heaven."

"Oh the weather outside is frightful…" Booth began again, with added gusto.

"Booth." Brennan whined.

"And since we've no place to go." He continued, throwing a charm smile or two in her direction.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." Brennan mouthed, as she looked out the window.

"I saw that Bones, don't you think I didn't."

Brennan tried to hide her smile, but was unable to. Booth pulled into her driveway and cut the engine before exiting the car and dashing to Brennan's side. Before she could grab the handle, he had the door open for her.

"You know that's not necessary, right?" Brennan half asked, half commanded as she moved to get out of the car. Booth stepped back enough for her to exit the vehicle. However, he kept one hand on the door of the car and placed the other on the doorframe, effectively trapping her where she was standing.

"I know." Booth smiled, moving to stroke her cheek lightly. "But you love it really."

"Has anyone ever told you your ego is huge?" Brennan asked, frowning as much as possible.

"My ego, huh?" Booth asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Your ego Booth. Definitely your ego." Brennan affirmed, as she expertly ducked under his arm and walked up the driveway.

Booth followed behind her until they reached the door of her building. She turned to face him, surprised to find him so close behind her.

"You like the attention and you like the size of my...ego."

"Booth..."

"So we have a date to skate on Saturday afternoon, right?" He moved in closer to her until her back was against the wall behind her.

"Don't you have Parker on Saturday Booth?" Brennan enquired; caught between wishing she could back away further and wishing she hadn't backed away at all.

"Yes I do." Booth faltered, unsure if she didn't want to be involved with Parker at this stage. Or at all, he began to muse worriedly.

"Does he like to skate? If so, I'm sure he'd like to meet Alex and Haley. It's advisable for children to mix outside their usual peer group. It allows them to engage in a way outside of the social and age hierarchy created by the schooling system. I read an interesting article that suggested that children who mixed across age groups developed superior…." Her words were cut of by Booth's lips, his body pressing her against the wall.

It took her a moment to respond to the unexpected motion, but immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. In the back of her mind, she was screaming to gain control of the situation. He'd used the word date, and this kissing thing should stop. They weren't romantically involved, but to hell with it she thought.

When the kiss broke, the pair looked at each other, neither one moved from their position. Instead, they smiled at each other.

"So," Brennan began, not quite sure where her sentence was going, "he likes to skate?"

"He likes to skate." Booth confirmed, his words laced with the hint of a chuckle.

"You can skate?" Brennan asked.

"Don't I just look like a natural born skater?"

"Booth, skaters aren't born skaters, certainly some base level of physical ability is needed but…"

"Bones, shut up or I'll have to kiss you again."

With a challenging smile Brennan continued; "mainly physical skill in skating is…"

Booth made good on his promise.

Saturday rolled around quickly with the entire team relieved that Camille had left for New York. Brennan was pacing anxiously as she waited for Booth to arrive and pick her up. He was to have Parker with him, and then they'd head to the Jeffersonian to pick up Haley and Alex. After that, it was off to the ice skating rink and a day of fun.

She looked at her appearance critically, wanting to be sure that she looked good, even if this was to be a day spent around children. When there was a knock at the door, she took a deep breath and moved to it.

As she reached the door she was greeted by the 'angelic' voice of Booth and the slightly more agreeable voice of his young son. Brennan opened the door to find them standing there, Parker in front obviously leading their rendition.

"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"

Brennan grinned at the pair and clapped as they finished singing, much to the delight of Parker. The little boy held out a package from behind his back, waiting eagerly for Brennan to take it.

"What's this?" Brennan took the package and began to open it.

"Normally I'd bring flowers, but since it's so cold outside, I thought I'd get you something else," Booth grinned as she looked up at him.

Inside was a pair of gloves, a scarf and a hat all in navy blue. She was touched by the gift, but before she had a chance to overanalyze Parker asked "Do you like 'em?"

"I love them." Brennan answered, from the heart, her eyes darting to meet Booth's gaze.

"Do you like mine?" Parker asked, proudly showing his new scarf that had some sort of cartoon emblazoned across it.

"The colors and images are very stimulating." Brennan replied.

Parker wrinkled his nose in confusion and turning to his dad said; "I don't know what that means." much to his father's amusement.

"It means she likes it bub. Are you ready to go Bones?" He met her gaze and for a moment got lost in the blue of her eyes.

"Yes, I'm ready to go," she replied, looking away and pulling on the scarf and hat. The gloves were another matter with her cast. At least she could wear one.

"What are you doing?" Booth asked, as he watched her turn around and pick up her heavy bag.

"Just grabbing my bag. Why?" Brennan asked, more than a little confused, as she heaved the bag onto her shoulder.

"Why on earth do you need a bag like that?" Booth nagged, and before Brennan could answer he had walked over to her and begun rummaging through her bag.

"Has anyone ever told you that it is rude to go through a woman's purse? You are setting a bad example for Parker."

Brennan's words were lost on him, as in an exasperated fashion, he laughed at the contents of her bag.

"Latex gloves Bones? A flashlight? You do know we are only going skating right?"

"Hey, I never know when I'm going to need them. What if we're out and something comes up? It's better to be prepared."

"Whatever you say Bones." He caught her arm with his hand and guided her out of the apartment. "You've got what you need, now let's vamoose."

"Do you always have to drag me around like that Booth?"

"Do you always have to complain Bones?"

"Do you always have to fight with Dr. Bones dad?" Parker chimed in inquisitively.

"Dr Bones?" Brennan queried, "Did you teach him to say that Booth?"

Booth just shook his head, trying to suppress the laughter within.

"I said it right didn't I dad?" Parker asked, somewhat unsure of what was going on. "Dr. Bones right, just like you said."

"Ah, you did do this Booth." Bones said jabbing a finger in his direction. Attempts to suppress his laughter failed and he sputtered his way down the hallway leaving an angry Brennan and a confused Parker behind him.

"Come on Parker," Brennan assured, "Your Dad is just being silly. You can call me Tempe."

"Dr Tempe?" Parker looked up at her with big brown eyes.

"If you want Parker."

"Dr Tempe…why does daddy call you Bones?"

Brennan looked from son to father and sighed. She wasn't about to say he did it to annoy her, and besides, she was pretty sure that Booth would expect her to respond that way.

"He calls me Bones for the same reason he calls you bub. It's a special name he has just for me."

"And only he can call you that?"

"Does anyone else call you Bub?"

"Nuh-uh. Just daddy."

"Well no one else calls me Bones. You know what though Parker." Brennan said mischievously, her change in tone enough to quiet Booth's chuckling so he could hear what she was saying. "I think maybe we should think of a special name for me to call your dad. What do you think?"

"That's a great idea! I don't think anyone has had a special name for daddy in a long, long time."

Brennan smiled at Parker's words, and noted that Booth had slowed his pace for them to catch up with him.

"So what would you suggest Parker, for your dad's special name?"

The little boy thought about it as they reached the SUV. Booth helped his son into his booster seat. As Brennan slid into the front seat of the SUV, Parker looked up at her and said, "What about tiger?"

Booth snorted, his mind quickly flitting back to Vegas when he posed as 'Tony the Tiger' in the underground fight world.

"Tiger," Brennan mused, not daring to catch Booth's eye. "I like it. Great idea Parker, Tiger it is."

"Daddy, can I call you Tiger too?"

"No Bub."

"But why? It's such a cool name!"

"Because there's only one special person in this world that gets to call me Daddy and that's you."

"Is Dr Tempe the only special person in the world that can call you Tiger?"

"Yes bub, I guess she is." He confirmed, shooting an evil glare her way. "You have everything you need Bones, before we go?"

"Yes Tiger, I have."

"Don't start Bones."

"Don't start what?" Brennan asked, her eyes feigning innocence.

"Calling me Tiger." He replied, whispering the word 'tiger'.

"I think it suits you." Brennan offered, a sexy smile spreading across your face.

"Can I be called Lion?" Parker asked from the backseat, his voice full of hope.


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay kiddos, are you ready for some skating," Angela asked as she met Sarah and her kids at the Jeffersonian. Sarah smiled at the two children as they answered with enthusiastic cries, practically bouncing up and down on their feet.

"I can't tell you again how much this means to me. Thank you so much for all of this, you and Dr. Brennan."

"You're welcome, although it's certainly no problem. You've got a great set of kids here."

"You think so?" Sarah queried, unsure of her parenting abilities, in fact unsure of her self entirely.

"Absolutely." Angela assured, her sincerity evident to all.

"I guess they are. I am so proud of them."

"As they are of you." Angela began to smirk and Sarah turned to see exactly what it was Angela was so amused by. As she followed Angela's gaze and observed the object of her amusement, she sharply snapped her head back, training her eyes on the floor to avoid laughing.

"Zack." Angela called in a sing songy voice, trying to mask her amusement, "You look, um, well prepared."

"I'm not sure what exact environment to expect at the rink, so I wanted to have all possible scenarios covered." He frowned as he pulled off his ski cap.

"Well, that much is obvious."

"Hey dude, did you decide to wear your whole wardrobe in one go?" Hodgins chuckled as he rounded the corner, coming face to face with the well-prepared Zack Addy.

Before Zack had a chance to come up with a response, Angela rolled her eyes and flurried towards him. Taking him by the arm she dragged him towards her office. "Come on Zack; let's see if we can get a few of these clothes off of you!"

Hodgins watched, momentarily speechless as she dragged the young anthropologist off. Sarah suppressed a chuckle as she watched the scene, her kids unable to hold back the giggles. Finally Hodgins turned back to the nurse.

"As soon as Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth show up, we can get going. How are you doing today?"

"I'm a little nervous, but otherwise..."

"Good , good. Well nothing at all to be nervous about. I'm sure you'll do just fine." Hodgins assured her, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Do you think Zack is alright in there?" Hodgins asked, a little bothered by the images that kept filling his head involving Angela removing clothes from the young doctor.

"Maybe you should go check." Sarah offered, knowingly giving him the opportunity to go and keep an eye on the situation.

"I'll be back in a sec." Hodgins called, already half way to Angela's door.

"Mom, he's funny," Alex said with a little chuckle. She ruffled his hair and smiled down at the boy.

"He's a good man. I want the two of you on your best behavior today, okay? These nice people are doing this for us, so remember to be polite."

"Well yeah mom."

They both replied, in a way that suggested politeness was something well ingrained in their upbringing.

Their quiet moment was broken by the sound of something smashing and a shriek from Angela's office. Sarah was about to make her way over to check everything was ok when she heard Booth's voice behind her.

"What on earth is going on in Angela's office?" Booth asked Sarah, Sarah shrugged and with piqued interest followed Booth towards Angela's sanctum. They were closely followed by Haley and Alex who had been ushered along by Brennan who had Parker firmly planted on one hip.

They all stopped, stunned when they saw what had happened. Zack looked like he was scared to move from the corner, Angela was glaring at Hodgins, and the entomologist was gaping like a fish, incapable of speech.

"Jack, this has got to stop. I was just trying to make sure Zack would be more comfortable. I can't believe you actually thought... What is wrong with you?"

"Is everything okay in here?" Booth looked over the group with amusement. This was entirely too good to pass up.

"Be nice Tiger," Brennan whispered to him, earning herself an amused glare.

"Zack, are you Ok? You look awfully pale." Brennan asked, noticing for the first time just how worryingly scared he looked.

"I….I..." He began, the words not coming to his mouth.

"See Jack, do you see what you've done?" Angela chastised moving closer to Zack.

Again Jack tried to speak, but he was cut off by Booth's amused laughter.

"Oh, this is too good. Hodgins is jealous of the kid. Wow." The others looked at the situation and began to laugh themselves. It really was a ridiculous situation.

"I believe," Brennan said, "That we have a date with these kids to ice skate."

"I'm not jealous man." Hodgins hedged, no one believing him.

"You're jealous." Zach stated, in a non-provocative way, simply vocalizing the realization that had just formed in his head.

"Jealous of Zack? That's a ridiculous idea - I'm not jealous of you Zach." Hodgins countered hurriedly.

Before the banter could continue Brennan dragged Booth out of Angela's office, Sarah and the kids following close behind. After a second appraising the situation Angela too, made a hasty exit.

"Once the interview is over, Hodgins will take you to the rink. I'm sure Haley and Alex will have a great time today," Angela commented, glancing back into her office to keep an eye on the boys.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me, the attention you're giving my kids. Thank you."

"It's no problem at all, what's the Holiday season without having kids around anyway?"

Angela took Alex and Haley by the hand, Brennan quietly observing that Angela was very much a natural when it came to children.

"Ready to go guys?" Angela asked, raising their hands up high in her own.

"Ready." They said in unison.

"Ready?" Brennan asked Parker, to ensure he felt included.

" Ready Dr Tempe," he replied in a shy, hushed tone. He was somewhat intimidated by having older children around she noted. Haley looked over at the little boy, still in Temperance's arms and smiled. She offered her free hand to him. After a moment of hesitation, Parker reached out to take the hand. Brennan smiled at him and set him down to be with the other kids. Booth watched the scene, smiling at her efforts with all three kids. It was a side of her he rarely saw. Brennan turned to see Booth looking at her in an odd way.

"What did I do? Did I do something wrong?"

"No Bones, no you didn't. The complete opposite."

"Oh." She responded, not quite sure what else to say.

He threw his arm around her shoulder as Hodgins and Zack finally exited the office. Zack was shaking his head, and Hodgins looked somewhat contrite.

"Well, I think we can all get going. Sarah, good luck at your interview."

"Thank you." She was ushered away with Hodgins while the rest left for the skating rink. Booth gave Brennan another gentle squeeze and leaned in close to her ear. "You're doing perfect today Bones." Brennan shivered at the gentle caress of his words.

The team divided between cars and began making their way to their various destinations. Hodgins tried to be reassuring for Sarah despite the fact that he was more than a little perturbed by the events in Angela's office. Booth was in his element with Temperance and the 3 kids whilst Angela looked to the heavens for mercy as Zack explained why her vehicle was an unsafe mode of transport.

Arriving at the ice rink Brennan and Booth helped the kids out of the car. Brennan paid special attention to Parker, a fact that was not missed by Booth. They congregated by the bandstand where the small band was playing out classic holiday tunes.

Haley, Alex, and Parker sat still, but wiggling with anticipation as Booth went to rent skates for everyone. Brennan ran her hand through Parker's curls as he spoke shyly to Alex. He was in general an outgoing child, but today, shyness was taking over.

"Do you think the two of you can help Parker out today? Maybe show him some techniques?" Brennan looked at the kids as she spoke.

"Sure" Alex replied, slightly more in tune to what Brennan was really getting at. "Have you skated before Parker?" Alex asked, moving closer to Parker.

"Yep," Parker responded, slightly more assured, "Daddy's taken me skating lotsa times."

"Well maybe you can show us a few things." Alex offered.

"Can you go backwards?" Parker asked, starting to fidget even more with excitement.

"Nope," Alex lied, "will you show me how?"

"Yeah!" Brennan smiled as the shyness dropped. This was a good idea, bringing the kids with them to go skating. As Booth came back, his arms laden with five pairs of skates, Brennan rushed over to take some of them.

"Here, Booth, let me help."

"No, I don't want you aggravating your arm."

"Then I shouldn't even go out on the ice. If I were to fall, it would do a lot more damage than grabbing some skates."

"Good idea Bones, hows about you take your own advice and stay off the ice altogether." Booth teased, whilst handing out the skates.

"You know that is not what I meant Booth."

"So you do want these skates then." Booth offered, holding the skates just out of her reach.

"Booth, my arm in a cast or not I can still take you down."

"Is that a promise?" Booth challenged, quirking an eyebrow.

"Will you just give me the skates Booth?"

"What's the magic word Bones?" Booth pushed it further.

"The magic what? Booth I don't even know what you're talking about." Brennan was about to move towards Booth to inflict some serious bodily harm when she felt someone tugging at her sleeve. She looked down to see Parker motioning for her to bend down so he could whisper something to her. Booth watched on with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she rose and began to speak. "Can I have the skates please Tiger?" She asked, drawing out the word please in a childlike play.

Booth was about to respond when he heard Angela's voice from behind him. "Tiger?"

Don't even start with that Angela," Booth snarked as he handed the pair of skates to Brennan.

"Only Dr. Tempe is allowed to call daddy that," Parker added, looking at Angela. "And she's gonna call me Lion too, huh Dr. Tempe."

"Is that so?" Angela looked at her friend with raised eyebrows. This maternal side of her best friend was new, and she had to admit, it was nice to see. The adults each stood motionless independently acknowledging the pleasant changes that had occurred in the past few days. The children however were finding their patience wearing a little thin.

"Daddy." Parker nagged, "Are we going to skate yet?"

"Sure, um sure Bub." Booth responded, his mind pulled from inappropriate thoughts of his partner. "How about you three go ahead and I'll help Bones on the ice."

"I don't need your help Booth I'm perfectly capable." Brennan countered, although not fighting him as he placed his arm around her waist in preparation.

As the children skated ahead Haley asked, "Why does your Dad call Tempe Bones."

"Oh, that's his special name for her. Only he can call her that. She's his Bones."

The children's conversation was lost on Booth and Brennan but it most certainly elicited a smile from Angela.

"Come on Zack; let's see what kind of special moves you have on the ice." Angela linked arms with the young anthropologist as they stepped out on the ice.

Booth kept his hand at Brennan's waist, his other holding her hand as they skated around the rink, both watching the three kids as they moved. Once he saw that Parker was well taken care of, Booth spun Brennan in his arms so she was skating backwards. He pulled her a little closer and kissed her quickly on the lips before twirling her back into place. Brennan laughed at his behavior and glanced over at him.

"What was that for?"

"That's just for being you Bones." He laughed, pulling her a little closer.

"You know that makes no sense right? I can only by definition be me." She rationalized, her brow furrowed as if she was analyzing a case, an expression not missed by Booth.

"It makes perfect sense Bones, I'm glad that you are you, and that you are here, with me." He explained, hoping that she would understand his meaning.

"Well," she began, her voice pausing as she watched Parker fall lightly. She only began talking again once she had observed Haley and Alex help him to his feet. "Well Booth," She continued, turning herself around to face him, "thank you for being you and being here too."

She leaned forward, ready to offer Booth a small kiss of her own, but moved away at Angela's shriek of laughter. Brennan and Booth looked over to watch as the artist and Zack twirled around together on the ice.

"Well, it looks like Angela's having a good time," Booth grinned.

"Zack as well." As the band began playing another song, Temperance grinned and spun a little in Booth's arms.

"I love this song. It was always one of my favorites when I was a kid."

"So you've always had great taste then?" Booth questioned.

"Well I have to say my taste in men is slipping but other than that…" she shrugged to finish her sentence.

"Now that's not very nice is it now Bones?"

She simply smiled in response and pushed away from him, skating off at speed towards the kids who were all mastering the art of backwards skating. Booth shook his head and sped up, trying to catch the anthropologist. He was surprised at how quickly she could move on the ice, but caught up with her because of his longer stride. Just as she tried to get out of his grasp again, she tripped. Booth reached out, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her in his arms.

"You okay Bones?" She surprised him by bursting into fits of laughter, so much so that tears began to stream down her face.

"Bones?" Booth asked, his face covered with a wide, open smile, usually reserved for Parker.

"I'm sorry." Brennan offered, trying to regulate her breathing and avoid eye contact with Booth. "It's just when you asked if I was ok, I nearly said 'never better'. I'm sorry, that's not funny is it?"

"Not a joke I get." Booth agreed, his mind ticking over trying to fathom how on earth that could be funny.

"It's just, well that is so clichéd and romance novel like. I would never have Kathy come out with something like that in one of my novels. It's just so, so, I don't even have the words." She sighed, leaning back against the edge of the ice rink.

"So what you are really saying is that I make you feel like you are in a good romance novel?" Booth asked leadingly.

"I wouldn't go that far..." Booth trapped her with his arms against the edge of the rink.

"You wouldn't? I dunno, that's what it sounded like." He leaned in again to kiss her, but got diverted to her cheek when she moved to the side to look at the kids.

"At the hospital, I overheard Haley and Alex talking about needing something for a secret Santa..."

"Okay. And you're bringing this up now why?"

"I wonder if we can help them. There has to be something we can do for them."

"Temperance Brennan, you are a surprising woman, you know that?"

"Only because people underestimate me Booth."

Booth was about to argue when it dawned on him that what she had said was true. He did underestimate her and she deserved a lot better than that.

"I'm sorry for underestimating you Bones. I really should know better by now shouldn't I?"

"No Booth, logically, if I have understood correctly the behavior you were inferring was surprising, it is surprising. I have no knowledge of the rituals they are following. I am not engaged in a family unit, I have not been socialized to…" Her words were cut off by a stolen kiss from Booth. She was too shocked to find words as they both sneakily looked around to check no one had seen.

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"Do about what?" Whenever he did that, she had a difficult time thinking.

"The secret Santa thing."

"Oh, I'm not sure. It should be something low cost I suppose, but unique as well."

"I think I know just the thing," Booth said with a smirk.

"And what's that?"

Before Booth could answer their attention was stolen by shrieks on the centre of the ice. They both turned to see Zack spinning Haley, much in the way he had Angela earlier. Alex, Parker and Angela had paused to cheer, however Parker's focus was on his Dad and his favorite Anthropologist in the world. Noticing that his son appeared to want his attention Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and they skated over to Angela and the kids to join in watching the show Zack and Haley were putting on.

"The boy can really skate." Booth commented to Brennan as he took Parker's hand. Parker immediately moved to swap hands so he could stand in the middle. "No Bub, I need to stand next to Bones to make sure she is safe with her bad arm."

"Booth." Bones chastised, noticing the look of hurt flash across Parker's eyes. "Firstly I am perfectly capable of looking after myself." She whispered in a forceful tone, "secondly," she said louder, for Parker's ears. "Parker can help me, can't you?"

"Course I can Dr. Tempe," he said seriously. Temperance placed her good hand on Booth's shoulder for a moment, before taking Parker by the hand. He took the job very seriously, skating slowly until he was sure Temperance could keep up with him. "See daddy, I can do it."

"I see that Bub." Booth smiled in encouragement at his son as the little boy led Brennan around the rink. Angela skated up next to Booth and looked at him for a moment.

"So when exactly did the whole thing with you and Brennan start?"

"I don't know what you are talking about Angela, so don't you try any of your mind voodoo on me; it won't work."

"Mind voodoo Booth, mind voodoo?" Angela questioned, rolling her eyes for added emphasis.

"I'm not telling you anything Angela so stop fishing." Booth replied, a false smile on his lips.

"So there is something to tell Booth, duly noted." She teased, more than a little pleased at how how easily this was going.

"Angela you are twisting my words here." Booth tried ineffectively to back peddle.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave." She responded solemnly, before skating off laughing, leaving a worried looking Booth in her wake.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, though Booth was sad to say he was a little jealous of the attention Brennan was lavishing on his son. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it, he did, but he'd hoped to have some of it on himself.

The group finally made it off the ice to take a lunch break. Near the rink was a small diner, and the group gladly went inside to grab a bite to eat.

Brennan eventually let go of Parker's hand and watched him rush ahead with Haley and Alex who were following an unusually keen Zack. Angela followed close behind Parker whilst Brennan dropped back to let Booth catch up with her.

"You shouldn't be jealous you know." Brennan teased, as Booth began pulling faces which she assumed meant that he was denying her accusation.

"Bones, I don't know what you're talking about." He hedged, placing his hand on her back.

"You do Booth and I think this is something you may want to discuss with your therapist." She said, with a little too much seriousness for Booth's liking.

"Bones, psychology is not your thing." He warned, all too aware that she had hit the nail on the head.

"No Booth, psychology is not my thing, but you are." She smiled, taking a seat next to Parker and turning her attention to the menu he was trying to share with her. Booth hadn't joined them yet, still trying to wrap his mind around what she'd just said. He was her thing? He was her thing? He broke out into a grin before sitting on Parker's other side giving his son the chance to interact with them both.

The couple would sneak glances at each other, smiling occasionally when they thought no one was looking. Angel watched the pair as she and Zack entertained the older kids. In reality, she couldn't be happier for them. Booth and Brennan had obviously worked through the initial kiss and now had something they were working on.

Soon the waiter bought their food to the table and chaos ensued in a way that can only be created by three kids after the highs of ice-skating. The children chattered about people that Brennan eventually deduced were characters from TV shows. She made a mental list of names and phrases to google later so that she would be more up to speed when she next got to spend time with Parker. As that thought crossed her mind panic began to come in waves through her body. Panic that she may not get to spend time with him again and an equal panic regarding the obvious implications if she was spending more time with him in the future. The ever-observant Angela noticed the shift in Brennan's demeanor and opted to try and bring Brennan back to reality.

"Bren, could you pass the fries?" The request was simple, but it had the desired effect; it got Brennan out of her head and into the world.

"Hmmm? Oh, of course," Temperance answered absently. She passed the basket of fries over to Angela.

Booth looked outside the diner and spotted Hodgins and Sarah arriving at the rink. As Hodgins turned to look around for them, Booth waved them over. They came inside, and everyone turned to hear the news. Hodgins said nothing, and Sarah's expression was unreadable.

"Well?" Angela asked, trying to read their expressions.

"Well what?" Hodgins asked teasingly, causing Angela to throw a fry in his direction "Hey, hey, no need to start assaulting me already," Hodgins laughed, raising his hands to indicate submission.

"How did it go Sarah?"

"Kids, I'm afraid we won't be able to spend Christmas in the Motel." Sarah began, turning to focus on her children. Both children's faces fell, as the adults began to smile knowing what was coming next, "Because I got the job!"

There was a general giving of congratulations as Sarah moved round to sit between Haley and Alex.

"Is this ok with you two?" She asked sincerely. "I've told Dr Hodgins that I will only accept the job if you are both happy with this."

"But before you make your decision…" Hodgins interjected, "I want you to know that you would have full access to the main library, the swimming pools, tennis courts even the fishing lakes."

"Really?" the kids asked, wide eyed.

"Daddy can I move in with Dr Hodgins too?" Parker asked hopefully. Booth laughed and ruffled his son's hair.

"No, but I'm sure we can go to visit anytime we want."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe, and presents under the tree..." Temperance sang quietly under her breath as she poured batter into a bread pan. After Sarah left with the kids, Brennan invited her team and Booth to her apartment for a bit of a gathering. She had a proposition for all of them and it was just easier to ask them all together and away from work. Satisfied that her cranberry orange bread was ready to bake, she slid it into the oven, shut the door and turned around. She shrieked when she saw Booth there.

"First, I hear you singing, then I see you cooking, and then I make you jump? Who are you and what have you done with my Bones?" Booth jested, as he walked towards her.

"I am nobody's possession Booth." Brennan complained, planting her hands on her hips, trying to look more sure of herself than she was.

"And she's back." Booth muttered under his breath, as he reached the counter. "What are you cooking anyway, Mac and Cheese?" He asked hopefully.

"No, you'll have to put up with some seasonal bread. Why didn't you knock?"

"I did. You didn't hear and I tested the door, which I found unlocked."

"Don't start Booth. I left it unlocked so you could come in."

"But what if it hadn't been me?"

"Then you'd have gotten here and found them restrained on the floor. Did Parker have a good time?"

At the mention of his son Booth's eyes lit up even more than they had been already. "He had a fantastic time Bones, all he could talk about was you."

"Me?" she asked, her eyebrows knit together.

"You are currently his favorite person in the whole wide world." Booth replied, capturing his son's exuberance in the way he said the words.

"Booth that isn't rational, Parker hasn't met all the people in the whole world so he couldn't possibly know I'm his favorite, although children do develop attachments more easily than adults. They lose them quicker too you know Booth," she warned, her worry about being rejected shining through.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's not like that's the last time he'll see you." Booth wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "When are the squints getting here?"

"Angela said they'd all be here about seven."

"Good, so we have an hour to ourselves?"

"I suppose, why?" Booth grinned at her, unwrapped one of his arms and reached into his pocket. When he pulled out his hand, he held onto a sprig of mistletoe.

"I thought maybe we could give this little guy a test drive."

"Booth," Brennan chastised, "has that ever worked on any woman?"

"I've only ever tried it on one so you tell me." Booth ventured, still fairly sure of himself.

She left her spot behind the counter and leaned closer to his lips, taking her time, enjoying watching the soft smile play across his them. She let her hand venture to his chest and up to caress his cheek bringing her face closer to his. She moved her body against his and turned her head to whisper in his ear.

"No way will a line like that ever work on me Tiger." She teased before pulling sharply away and returning to her spot behind the counter leaving a shocked and frustrated Booth in her wake.

"Aw come on Bones, we haven't had that much time alone yet." Brennan looked back at him, trying not to grin at the pout he wore.

"Did Parker teach you that look?" Brennan leaned on the counter, looking at Booth with amusement.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Oh that's right. I've seen this look before when we were in Los Angeles and you didn't want me to drive." Booth looked back at her, the pout still firmly on his face as he twirled the mistletoe in his hand. He caught Brennan's gaze and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine. Stop being a baby."

Brennan walked back over to him capturing his now slightly less pouty lips with her own. Both were momentarily stunned by the sheer volume and strength of emotions that flooded through them each time their lips met. Although there was an obvious and overpowering sexual attraction there, Brennan was becoming increasingly aware that she had no logical explanation for the way Booth made her feel.

Once Brennan was certain that Booth was sufficiently assured she removed herself from his embrace and offered a final chaste kiss to his lips that were again beginning to form a pout.

" You know you can't just kiss a man like that and walk away Bones." Booth warned, his voice thick with desire.

"I just did Booth, I just did."

"I don't believe you. You're a tease. Dr. Temperance Brennan, renowned forensic anthropologist is a tease. Unbelievable." Booth shook his head, but moved into the kitchen behind her. Temperance backed up to a counter, trying to keep a little distance between the two of them.

"I'm no such thing."

"Uh huh, and that's why you left me wanting more, huh?" He trapped her between his arms and moved his head close to her own to whisper in her ear. "I've got to tell you though, it's motivated me just a little, and what I aim for, I hit." With that, he leaned in a little farther, his lips within millimeters of her pulse point.

"Booth," Brennan warned, before his lips made contact with her soft skin. The rest of her argument was lost; the only sound she was able to make was the softest of moans that escaped her lips. Booth's hands ran up her sides, lightly tracing the curves of her body before settling in the waves of her hair. His lips traced a jaw line, until he cupped her face and kissed her cheek. His lips inched closer to hers, and she parted them eagerly awaiting him.

"So," Booth said, stepping back abruptly and rocking on his heels, "When'll the bread be ready? It smells really good."

"About 10 minutes." Brennan answered, determined not to let any sign of frustration show on her face.

"Oh come on Bones, I gotcha didn't I?"

"Not for a second Booth." She lied, knowing all to well that he could see right through her.

"Come on, what do you say we continue this in the other room. Your couch is probably a lot more comfortable."

"You are completely incorrigible, you know that?"

"So is that a yes?" Brennan rolled her eyes at him again, and as she walked past him, she grabbed the edge of his jacket and dragged him in the other room.

"Ha, see? I knew you couldn't resist me."

"I can resist you Booth." She challenged, turning to face him as she backed towards the couch, still holding on to the edge of his jacket, "I just don't want to."

Booth followed her lead forcing her back until the back of the couch caught behind her knees. Without a fight she fell back pulling him on top of her, their lips meeting in the process. Brennan's hands held the back of his head and neck, pulling him closer, as her body craved his attention. Booth held her with equal force also feeling that they could not get close enough. His hand traced down her body until it found her skin exposed between the hem of her shirt and the top of her skirt. The warmth of her skin under his fingers made him pause momentarily before he moved his hand under her shirt and round tracing her spine causing her to arch her body against him.

He manipulated her lips with his own, asking for entrance, and moaning in appreciation when she gave it. He shifted his position to get more comfortable as she ran her own hands up his chest, pushing the jacket from his shoulders. This was getting much hotter than he expected as he kissed his way from her lips, across her jaw line and to her ear, which he traced gently with his tongue.

Brennan let out a breathy moan and clutched Booth closer to her body. This felt so good, and again briefly she wondered how he could make her feel this way. Everywhere he touched felt on fire. Her skin couldn't possibly feel on fire simply because of his touch, she rationalized, or tried to; the way he had moved to kiss along her collar bone was rather distracting. He paused for a second, before raising his head to look at her.

"Stop analyzing, Bones." He warned, before working his way up to her face with his lips. He took his time, his fingers gingerly tracing where his lips had just been.

"How… I mean you can't possible know what I'm, thinking Booth."

"Bones, I know you better than I know myself."

"Well that's just not logical." She retorted, glad to be returning to a slightly more normal and thus comfortable area of their relationship; bickering.

"I'm not going to bicker with you just so you can avoid feeling this Bones." He smiled, a solitary finger tracing her lips.

With that she raised her head slightly pressing her lips to him hungrily. Her tongue pushed softly, but assertively into his mouth eliciting a moan from each of them as their tongues battled for dominance. When oxygen was becoming an issue, Booth pulled away slowly, although he was drawn back to her lips a number of times before he could fully move away.

"What was that for Bones?"

"For being you," she repeated his words from earlier in the day, "and for being here."

Booth offered her a slow, sexy smile, just one side quirking up. As he leaned down to capture her lips once more, a loud buzz sounded from the kitchen. Brennan looked at him with something akin to regret and pushed him off of her.

"I have to get that bread," she murmured, not wanting to get up.

"That bread had better be worth it," Booth muttered as he let her go and tried to get comfortable.

Brennan moved around the kitchen with the same accurate approach she adopted in the lab. Her accuracy was not to be confused with being clinical she was simply logical in her approach, logic, that Booth noted, was always somewhat governed by heart.

She removed the bread from the oven and instantly its aroma filled the apartment.

"Bones, that smells so good." Booth commented, rising to come and inspect the bread closer.

"My mom and I used to make it every Christmas, it was sort of a ritual," she paused, "tradition." She corrected.

"Do you have any more traditions that taste this good?" Booth asked, beginning to pick at the freshly baked bread.

"Booth!" Brennan complained, slapping his hand away. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, it was if you must know. Now, you have any other tasty treats to make?"

"Not if you're going to keep picking at them. No bread until the others get here. Besides, it needs to cool down."

"It needs to cool down or we do?" Brennan was never one to be embarrassed about sex, or anything dealing with it. That was Booth's arena, but the intensity with which he looked at her brought the blush on.

"I think we have some time before that needs to happen," she whispered, finally looking him in the eye. She was fascinated as she watched his pupils dilate. That was definitely an indication he was interested. Deciding to break the silence Brennan opted for a safe topic of conversation; "So, what is your great idea for Haley and Alex's secret Santa presents."

"Well," Booth began, glad that she had changed the subject before they started something they couldn't finish, "how about I use my well honed origami skills to make something. It won't cost anything so Sarah won't feel indebted and I get to feel like I've contributed something to these kids, who are obviously very important to you."

"Booth, that is a lovely idea. They'll have something very unique to give their friends."

"Bones, is their something you are not telling me about your involvement with this family? Don't get me wrong, you are doing a wonderful thing, I'm just not certain you are giving me the whole story here."

Temperance sighed. She should have known that he'd figure this out sooner or later. Initially she'd wanted to keep it from him, but now she realized that besides Angela, he could be a big asset.

"I feel for Sarah and the kids. She's in a tight spot this year and I don't think she can afford a Christmas for her children."

"So that's why all the questions about gifts and traditions the other night. It makes a little more sense now. Did you have anything in mind?"

"That's why I invited the others here. I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions."

"So you want to be their secret Santa. I like that. You're a good person Bones." Booth offered her a smile and moved a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Brennan's reply to his comment was simply an unsure smile. He rest his hand on top of hers, rubbing his thumb gently across he knuckles.

"So, how can I help then Bones?" Booth asked earnestly, not wanting to force his assistance on her.

Brennan pondered his offer for a long moment and then asked;

"Will you tell me about Christmas, when you were growing up? What was it like?"

"Probably just the same as yours Bones, you know big tree, turkey, presents; the works."

"What did you like most about Christmas when you were a child?"

"I think what I liked the most was getting up early, even though we'd been to midnight Mass and waking up my parents. Jared and I would race down the stairs to see what Santa left for us. You know, we didn't have much growing up, but my parents always made an effort to give us a great holiday."

"And you like to do that for Parker, don't you?"

"Of course. Any parent does. I might not get my son a lot of stuff, but I try to get him what ever I think he'll enjoy a lot. What about you? There has to be a favorite memory for you."

"Not really Booth." Brennan tensed, shaking her head.

"Bones." Booth said slowly, moving his finger to trace her jaw line and tilt her head towards him. "Just give it a go, okay? Trust me."

"You know I trust you Booth."

"Then tell me. Tell me about Christmas when you were a kid."

"Well…" Brennan began tentatively, her voice laced with uncertainty, "I guess it was the singing. After we had opened our presents we would go and get dressed. Every year Mom bought us a new outfit to wear on Christmas day, it was one of our presents. When we would come down Mom would be in the kitchen cooking, she would always sing as she cooked. Eventually it became a bit of a tradition, mom cooking and dad, Russ and me at the table, all four of us singing."

"What would you sing?" Booth asked, not wanting to say much.

"Christmas Carols mostly." She answered, as she turned to face him properly, a real smile in her eyes.

"Beautiful," he said quietly as he offered her a soft smile. Temperance looked away from him for a moment, lost in holidays past. There was just something about being around Booth...

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what? Being me?" Booth grinned at her when she looked up again.

"No, for making me remember. I sometimes get a little caught up in the bad and forget about the good."

"Well that's what I'm here for, and what I'll always be here for." Booth assured, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you." She said simply, letting her head rest against his shoulder. She was reveling in the feeling of being wanted when Booth's cell began to ring. She moved away from him, almost embarrassed, and began pottering in the kitchen whilst Booth answered the call. She was so wrapped up in what she was doing she did not hear Booth calling her name until he was right behind her, at which point the sound of her name on his lips made her jump.

"It's for you Bones." He said waving the cell towards her.

"But it's your cell Booth." She responded, utterly confused.

"Yeah, I realize that Bones." He rolled his eyes as he moved to hand her the phone.

"Who is it?" She asked him, as she took the phone in her hand.

"Lion." Booth answered, rolling his eyes once again.

"You shouldn't do that you know. The wind will change and you'll get stuck that way." She warned, as she raised the cell to her ear. Before he had a chance to ask her who had taught her that she answered him.

"Lion. Hi, is everything okay?"

"I told my mom all about today Dr. Tempe and she said I should thank you for the best day ever." Brennan smiled at his words, slightly more choked up than she expected to be.

"Well you're welcome. I'm glad you had fun today. I did too."

"Okay well I have to go cause it's close to bedtime. Bye Dr. Tempe."

"Goodnight," she grinned into the phone. She handed it back to Booth when she heard the line go dead. Booth took it with a smile, and offered her a wink.

"Somehow, Dr. Brennan you've managed to work your magic over us Booth men."

Brennan found herself without the words to answer him. Instead she opted to close the distance between them and wrap her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his chest and let out a contented sigh.

"You know Booth, what is wrong with this situation? I am too happy for this to be believable."

"Bones, you deserve to let yourself be happy. Don't question it, just enjoy it."

Brennan nodded into his chest feeling more at home than ever before. The moment was perfect and she resolved that she could never be happier than she was in that moment in his arms. That was until she thought she heard singing. Convinced that she may actually be delusional she pulled slightly away from Booth to identify the source of the noise. After a moment she realized it was coming from her door. With a broad smile she moved to open the door, without checking the peephole still to Booth's annoyance, she was greeted by Zach, Angela and Hodgins singing Carols. Admittedly some of them seemed more coerced than others but they were all smiling, all glad to see her. Her family was home.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Originally this story was co-written by myself and Tozzyoby, but as I haven't heard from her in over a year, I've decided to finish this story on my own. As you can tell by the original publish date, I've been working on this story for about two years now. I considered editing it to make Cam not so harsh, but I'm going to leave it be for now. I hope to have this finished by Christmas this year, and I apologize for taking so long to post again. Enjoy the story, and remember…reviews help keep me from slipping into a deep, dark depression, so please be kind to your author and drop me a line when you're done._

"Hey, something smells good, Dr. B," Hodgins said as Brennan ushered the group into her apartment. Booth took their coats, a move not lost on Angela as she looked between the pair. Brennan's shirt was slightly rumpled, as was Booth's normally perfect hair, and both of them had flushed cheeks. A quick glance around the room found a sprig of mistletoe on the floor by the couch.

"It's cranberry orange bread. I thought I would visit some old traditions in the spirit of the holiday. It should be sufficiently cooled by now to serve." Brennan turned to make her way to the kitchen while the group moved to the couch to sit down. Angela picked up the mistletoe and twirled it between her fingers before glancing up at Booth with a wicked grin on her face.

"You guys do know this stuff is supposed to be hung in a doorway, right? Any particular reason it's on the floor by the couch?"

"It's there because it fell off of the coffee table." The tone of his voice told her to drop the subject as Brennan came back into the room with freshly sliced bread on a platter for the group.

"Sweetie, you should have told us you were making something. I would have brought something over." Brennan waved her off as she set the platter down onto the table.

"So why exactly did you want us over," Angela asked when Brennan sat down next to Booth. Temperance took in a deep breath and got a reassuring squeeze from Booth before she began.

"I want to provide Christmas for Sarah and the kids." Everyone was silent for a long time, and she was worried that putting herself out to scrutiny was the wrong thing to do. "I mean, the job for the Cantilever Group will help out in the long run, but she's still not able to provide the type of holiday that she wants for Haley and Alex. I just thought that maybe..."

"Bren, that is the sweetest thing. Of course we'll help with whatever needs to be done."

"Well that's just it. I'm not exactly sure what I need to do. I mean obviously we'll need presents for both Haley and Alex."

"I can take care of that Bones. Count on me to get them the best gifts I can." Brennan beamed at Booth, her eyes watering a bit from the support she was getting from her friends. While not sure what type of a reception she would receive for her idea, the support overwhelmed her.

"Sarah can move in to the staff house on property as soon as she wants," Hodgins said, his eyes twinkling merrily at the idea of surprising the nurse and her two children. Angela bounced a bit in her seat, excitement written all over her.

"Oh, I can decorate! I know this really great place that has decorations for really reasonable prices."

"That's wonderful Ange. I'm sure that Hodgins and Zack can help you set everything up in the house."

"No," Hodgins said with a vehement shake of his head. "Have you ever worked with her when she's put in charge? The woman's a task master."

"Yeah, a task master who you want to keep happy, right?" Angela turned her full attention on Brennan, practically bouncing in her seat. "What do you say we go tonight? We can see the house, and I can get a better idea of what I'll need, and we can go look for a tree and some of the other decorations! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Temperance looked somewhat leery of a further outing for the day and glanced at Booth. He gave her leg another reassuring squeeze and leaned forward to address the artist.

"Actually Angela, why don't the three of you go look at the house, and then tomorrow you and Bones can look into the decorations. How does that sound?" Angela glanced from Brennan to Booth and nodded in understanding.

"Sure, we can do that. I suppose it will give me more time to plan out something spectacular for Sarah." She stood and took a couple of pieces of the bread as she did so. She then grabbed Hodgins and Zack to drag them from the apartment with her. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early." She looked from Booth to Brennan. "I won't be interrupting anything will I?"

"No Ange, she's all yours tomorrow," Booth said as he and Brennan showed the others to the door.

"Great. I'll see you in the morning, and happy holidays sweetie," Angela said as she hugged Brennan goodbye. Once the three were gone, Booth closed the door and turned back to Temperance. He pulled her flush against him and placed a gentle kiss onto her lips.

"I'm proud of you Bones. You're really doing a great thing for Sarah."

"Well, it's just that she deserves so much, and has had such a hard time recently. She feels the same way that you do about the holidays, and I think it's time she gets what she should out of life."

"I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from you, especially after that funeral you paid for last year." Brennan made a noise to brush off his comment and waved her hand in a non-committal manner.

"Maria and her father were Catholic, and deserved to have a proper burial. It was nothing."

"No, it wasn't nothing. Do you have any idea how few people would have made the effort? You're an extraordinary woman, Temperance." When she looked away from him, he placed a finger under her chin and maneuvered her face until she was looking at him again. He leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She was amazed as always about the depth of emotions she experienced when they kissed. Curious about one thing, she pulled away from him and looked him in the eye.

"You don't cheat." Booth quirked up an eyebrow as he held her gaze.

"No, I don't."

"Then am I to assume that you and Dr. Saroyan have ended your relationship?"

"I can assure you that I would not have kissed you the first time if I were still with Cam, so yes, my relationship with her is over. Why the sudden curiosity? I would have thought you knew the answer to that."

"Logically I did, but whatever has gone on between us within the last week has had me somewhat confused. I'm not quite sure where our relationship is currently." She pulled away from Booth and sat down on her couch, and leaned her head against her hand. "Are we dating? Are you expecting to have sex with me? Angela seems to think so, and based on our recent behavior I'd have to agree with her, and yet as much as I find you aesthetically pleasing, the thought of moving our relationship further along than it is currently makes me nervous. Normally I have no problems with satisfying urges, but I can't help thinking that what we do together would be different." Booth opened and closed his mouth a few times before he sat down next to her. He took one of her hands between his and turned her to face him.

"Bones, you know that I would never pressure you into anything you weren't ready for, right?" She nodded, and he continued on. "I get that we've made a jump in our relationship, and I'm glad that we have. For now, we just move one day at a time." Booth grinned at her. "Although I do have to say I'm shocked that you're looking beyond biological urges."

"I'm not. I just think that things are different with you."

"Thanks Bones. That means a lot. Now come on, we have some supplies to buy if I'm going to make those secret Santa gifts."

XxXxX

"Merry Christmas Sweetie," Angela said as she knocked on Brennan's door the next morning. She was a tad bit surprised to see the door cracked open, especially with how protective Booth was about Bren keeping her apartment. When she peeked into the apartment, a smile broke out onto her face. Booth and Brennan were asleep on the couch, surrounded by various paper reindeer and angels. Temperance had her head on Booth's shoulder, and his arm was around her, holding her to him.

Angela stepped into the apartment and straightened up the coffee table, dividing the little paper figures into two piles for Haley and Alex. She stopped moving when she heard the couple shift on the couch. Brennan nodded forward until her head landed in Booth's lap. With a soft sigh, she curled her legs up onto the couch and kept on sleeping.

The artist moved to the kitchen and put on some coffee while doing a search for some food to make for breakfast. As the aromatic scent of the coffee made its way into the other room, the partners stirred on the couch, finally waking. Angela popped around the corner and smiled at them as they looked around, confused.

"Morning my little lovebirds. It's Sunday morning, are you ready for some holiday cheer?"

"Ange, what are you doing here?" Brennan stood and made her way into the kitchen to take over in the search for breakfast.

"Well, we are going shopping for decorations today, and it's best if we start early. Jack took me by the house last night. Oh my god, Bren it is the absolute cutest thing. It's just perfect for some Victorian inspired decorations, and I have a whole plan worked out. Everything's going to be great."

"I'm glad to hear it. We need to stop by the motel Sarah's living at to drop off the secret Santa gifts for Haley and Alex, and then I think we can head out for the decorations."

"Sounds good to me sweetie." Angela poked her head around to the living room again where Booth was straightening out his clothes and checking the time. "Care to join us Booth?"

"Sorry, but I can't. I have to go to Mass, and then I have a few errands of my own to run. You ladies have fun though." He smiled and planted a kiss on Brennan's lips before he left the apartment. He really didn't care if Angela knew that something had changed between him and Brennan. She'd find out soon enough as it was. Once the door to the apartment was shut, the artist rounded on Temperance.

"So how is everything going between you and Booth? You don't seem quite so…nervous about the whole thing." Brennan poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip as she contemplated her answer.

"I think it was all just needless worrying. We discussed a few things last night and I'm much more comfortable with our current situation."

"Only you would call dating a hottie like Booth a 'situation'."

"We're taking everything one day at a time, and that's all you're getting out of me on the subject. Now, just give me about half an hour to get ready and we can get going."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be here," Angela said and waved off her friend. As Brennan headed to her room to get ready for the day, Angela started breakfast. They could at least eat before starting a whole day of shopping. She smiled as she thought again about what Brennan was doing for Sarah and her two children. There weren't very many people who were willing to help someone out, even if just from the goodness of their hearts. She was sure that she was right about Temperance. The reason the anthropologist often came across as a bit cold was to shelter herself from hurt. She was one of the most compassionate and sincere people she ever had the privilege to know.

XxXxX

"Bren, are you sure this is the right place?" Angela looked at the rather seedy motel with a frown. It looked to be the type of place that was rented by the hour. There was no way that this was a safe environment for those two kids.

"This is the address that Sarah gave me. How soon did Hodgins say before Sarah could move into the on site house?"

"He said they can move in when they want. I'm going to interpret that as today. There's no way she should have to live here any longer than necessary." Temperance turned off the engine as she and Angela got out of the car to look for the number of Sarah's apartment. There were a couple of shifty looking tenants eyeing them as they walked around the motel property, which was something that gave Angela a serious case of the willies.

"Good, because I was going to suggest that she and the kids stay with me until they could move in. Ah, here we are." Brennan knocked on the door, glad when it was opened fairly quickly. Haley looked at her from the other side and beamed when she saw who it was.

"Mom, Dr. Brennan and Angela are here! Can I let them in?" Sarah came to the door and smiled at the two ladies. She unchained the door and opened it for them to come inside.

"Of course sweetheart. Dr. Brennan, Angela, what can I do for you?" Brennan took in the interior of the small hotel room and frowned for a moment before schooling her features into a more neutral expression. This was no place to raise children.

"Oh, well I have something to drop off for Alex and Haley. I seem to have overheard them talking about secret Santa gifts and thought that these might help." She handed a bag filled with paper angels and reindeer to the nurse with a smile.

"You didn't have to do that. Honestly Dr. Brennan, there's no possible way for me to pay you back if you keep this up." She handed the bag to Alex and pointed to a small circular table. He poured the figures out onto the table where he and his sister began to sort through them excitedly.

"Honestly, it's not a problem at all. That's not the only reason we're here. We spoke with Dr. Hodgins, and he informed us that the house set up for your quarters is available to move into, so as soon as you can have everything packed up, you can head over. He'll have the keys waiting for you at the front gate." Sarah looked from Brennan to Angela and threw her arms around both women.

"Thank you for everything you've done the past week. I've been praying for help, but I honestly didn't think that it would do any good. It seems like I've been given a guardian angel after all." Angela looked over at Brennan, glad to see that the anthropologist was holding her tongue on the comment.

"I know it's not the same as providing gifts for your children, but I hope this helps out for the holiday," Brennan said and offered Angela a wink over Sarah's shoulder. A warm feeling filled her chest, and she wondered if this was truly what the season was all about. After all, it was the season of giving, and she wasn't nearly through yet.


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, it's not Bronner's but they have just about anything you'd need for the holidays," Angela said as she and Brennan walked around the holiday warehouse. Trees stood in various spots around the acres large space, decorated in various themes whether by color or style. Garlands, wreaths, decorations and lights lined the shelves while displays of Christmas villages filled tables, and trains circled the merry little displays.

"How on earth do you know what to get," Brennan asked as she looked over the rows and rows of holiday fare. That was one aspect of the holiday that she never took into consideration, how much one put into the decorations.

"Well I went over to the house and drew some sketches of what I want the place to look like, so I just have to collect those things and we're good to go."

"You know, I don't think that many people realize that many of the traditions they follow for Christmas actually originated in Ancient Rome."

"Sweetie…"

"I mean, right around the winter solstice, the Romans celebrated the festival of Saturnalia, which was basically a giant orgy. At the same time, the feast day of Mithra was celebrated. Mithra of course was the risen sun, so what better way for early Christians to generate more followers than to set Christ's Mass on the same day. That way the feast day of the risen sun becomes the Feast Day of the Risen Son. Oh, that's pretty." She picked up a red and gold tree skirt to admire the embroidery on it.

"You know Bren, sometimes I think you let your brain get too much in the way and you spoil all the fun."

"I don't understand how knowing the history behind a holiday can 'spoil the fun'."

"You put too much in fact and can't see the magic that permeates this time of year. You know, it's the same magic that brought you and Booth together." The artist took the tree skirt from Brennan and threw it into a shopping cart.

"Booth and I aren't together because of magic Angela."

"Oh? So how do you explain that perfect kiss on a snowy evening? If anything was magic, that certainly was." The artist sighed and smiled, her expression becoming dreamy.

"I accept it as a moment of spontaneity between the two of us."

"Whatever sweetie. There was magic involved whether you believe it or not." Brennan sighed and crossed her arms. Angela sounded like Booth. What was it he had said during the whole mess with Jamie Kenton? "Oh, there's magic. Two people seeing each other across a crowded room, that old black magic got you in its spell…"

"So," Angela continued once she turned back to shopping, "how is everything going between the two of you? Are you more comfortable with the idea of sleeping with him?"

"That hasn't been brought up, and to be honest, I'm just enjoying the start of this relationship. I don't want to rush into anything that might harm what we have right now."

"You are so cute when it comes to Booth. Here you are, finally together. My baby's all grown up and saving China." Angela pretended to wipe away a tear as Brennan looked at her, perplexed. "It's a Disney reference Sweetie, don't worry about it. All I'm saying is that it's so nice to see you in a relationship that makes you happy."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now how about we get the rest of the stuff we need and go do lunch?"

"I think that sounds wonderful."

XxXxX

"Bones, you here," Booth asked as he poked his head into her apartment. When he knocked on the front door, he tested the handle, finding it unlocked once again. He'd really have to get on her about that.

"I'm in the kitchen," she called out and stepped out to greet him. He took in the Santa hat and holiday apron she was wearing and grinned. The apron had a Christmas tree on it topped by a tree angel that was singing. Just above the angel were the words, 'Hark the Angel Harold sings'.

"Well, don't we look festive," he said and wrapped his arms around her waist once she was close enough.

"Angela insisted that I get the hat and apron. She said that no self-respecting person could go through the holiday season without proper baking wear."

"Hmmmm, I think I agree with her." He brought his lips to her and kissed her deeply, pulling her closer to him as she responded. She wrapped her arms around his neck, getting a bit lost in the kiss. The kiss broke, but neither moved away from the other.

"What are you doing here this evening? I thought you were going to be home tonight?"

"I did a bit of shopping and thought that we could spend the evening watching some Christmas movies and wrapping presents."

"You didn't buy anything today did you? I was under the assumption we'd go together."

"We still can. I only picked up a few things, that's all. So, what do you say? You want to participate in the age old tradition of wrapping presents?" Temperance smiled at him before stepping out of his arms.

"Sure, just let me get this pie into the oven." Booth's eyes lit up at the words.

"You made pie?"

"Well, I don't cook that often, and I thought I could get back into practice, so I'm making an apple cranberry pie. Assuming it turns out okay then I can freeze it until Christmas Eve and give it to Sarah and her children."

"So you're not making it for me," Booth said, a pout on his face.

"Maybe if you're good I can make another one."

"Hmmm, and what do I get if I'm naughty?" Brennan blushed under the intensity of his gaze, unable to look away from the darkening orbs. Her heart pounded in her chest and she opened her mouth to speak, but for once was unable to think of anything. She was saved from a response when her oven dinged, indicating that it had finished heating up.

"I'd better go get that," she murmured and stepped out of his embrace. He sighed and put his hands on his waist as he watched her place the pie into the oven. By no means did he want to rush Temperance into anything, but damn if he didn't want to move their relationship along. When she turned back around after shutting the oven, he plastered a smile back onto his face.

"So, are we ready to wrap some presents?"

XxXxX

"How can you honestly say that this is the best holiday movie ever," Brennan asked as she watched Ralphie onscreen with a stick of soap in his mouth.

"Oh come on Bones, this movie is great. It shows what families go through this time of year perfectly. And everyone knows the line, 'You'll shoot your eye out kid'. It's a classic." He picked up a premade bow from a box and pulled the protective strip from it before sticking it on Brennan's nose.

"Booth, stop it," she said, pulling off the bow. She stuck it onto the gift she'd just finished wrapping and set it aside.

"Oh come on, don't take the bow off, that's my job."

"Your job? And why is that?"

"Because I'm supposed to unwrap my present." Brennan raised up one eyebrow as she looked at Booth.

"Is that what I am, a present?" She met his eyes, again amazed at the hold they seemed to have on her. Booth reached up and traced her cheek before sweeping a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I thank God everyday for allowing me the gift of having you in my life Temperance." Oh, now he'd done it. She fought the pinpricks of tears forming and leaned forward, capturing his lips with her own. Booth fell back slightly, holding onto her as he went down until she was laid out on top of him. His hands crept up underneath her shirt and he caressed the soft skin of her lower back. When she winced and pulled away a bit he cursed for forgetting about her wrist. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Booth, really," she said and moved to a more comfortable position. With a sigh, Booth sat up, straightening her carefully as he did so.

"No, it's late, and I should probably go. We do still have work in the morning."

"Booth, stay." He looked into her eyes, expecting to see fear underlying her request, or a sense that she was just making the offer in an attempt to make him feel better about jostling her arm. But that wasn't what he saw there. As she stood up and held out her hand, he nodded and reached up for it. Who was he to deny her anything?


	10. Chapter 10

Angela watched the couple from her spot on the platform. She glanced at her watch and noted that it was one of the few times that Brennan was actually late for work. She turned back to the couple and watched as Booth pulled Temperance into his arms, kissing her as if he couldn't stand to be away from her for even a minute. Brennan's arms went about his neck, pulling him closer to her and deepening the kiss. Angela picked up a file folder to fan herself a bit. That kiss was seriously hot. As it broke and the pair reluctantly parted, she smiled. Good for them. Those two deserve a little happiness, she thought as Brennan made her way to her office. Angela got up from her seat on the platform and moseyed over to the office as well.

"Well, you look happy," she said as she sat down on Brennan's couch.

"I am," Temperance answered as she sat and booted up her computer.

"So, does this mean that the two of you finally have some unlawful carnal knowledge of each other?" Brennan smiled at her friend and shook her head as she perused her e-mails.

"He did stay over last night, but that's about as far as things got."

"What? Why?"

"He was a bit concerned about the pie in the oven." Angela looked at Brennan, trying to figure out what she was talking about. She looked over her friend, but didn't notice any physical changes in her best friend, although with the amount of time that had passed since her last boyfriend…

"Sweetie, did you mean bun in the oven?"

"No, I wasn't baking a bun. I was baking a pie. Apparently letting an apple cranberry pie cook too long is akin to sacrilege. A wave of relief swept over Angela.

"Oh, I thought you meant… never mind. So pie beat out sex for that man? That's interesting."

"Ange, I don't know how to quite explain it, but even though we didn't have sex, last night was probably the most intimate I've ever been in a relationship." The artist smiled at her friend, which Brennan returned.

"Well it'll happen when it happens. I was thinking that we could throw a housewarming party for Sarah and her kids this evening. She moved in yesterday, thank god and it will give me a better sense for how we can get the place decorated without her or her kids notice."

"What time were you planning to have this little party because I'm supposed to go shopping with Booth tonight."

"You two are the cutest things, I swear. I was thinking of doing something around eight because of her shift at the hospital. She still has to finish out the week there before she can take over her position with the Cantilever Group. I already told Jack, and he'll have Zack there too, so that would just leave you and Booth."

"I'm sure we can skip dinner and then go after we're done shopping. I'll let him know when he picks me up this evening." Angela grinned at her friend in a way that let Brennan know what was coming next.

"Is he staying over again? Because so long as you don't decide to bake anything else, the only thing you need to turn on is that man."

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"Yes I do and I'll take that as my cue to get back to work." The artist stood and headed out of the office. Brennan shook her head and turned her attention to her work. She had several papers to grade and a speech to write for a charity event. Turning her attention from thoughts of Booth, she focused on her tasks for the day.

XxXxX

"So why exactly are we throwing a surprise housewarming party for Sarah," Booth asked as he and Brennan drove onto the Hodgins Estate. He tried not to let his hackles rise at the thought of the money Hodgins had inherited. The guy was far from the usual privileged asses they had contact with.

"Well Angela wants to get an idea of how to decorate the house without their knowledge, so this was what she thought up. If you didn't want to go, you should have said something."

"No, it's not that. I just don't think we should keep throwing surprises at her. I mean would you appreciate having a party dropped on you at the last moment?"

"I see your point, but I can see Angela's as well."

"Well it's too late to change our minds," Booth said as he pulled the vehicle to a stop. The pair got out, pie in hand and headed to the front door where Angela, Zack and Hodgins were waiting for them. As soon as the artist saw them, she turned to the door and knocked. It took a moment, but when Sarah finally opened the door, she smiled at the group on her doorstep.

"Well, fancy meeting the lot of you here. What's up?"

"We all thought that you deserved a little holiday cheer since you have this great place and all, so here we are!" Sarah laughed and stepped aside to let the group inside.

"You certainly didn't need to do this, but thank you. I don't think I've ever been offered so much help or friendship in my life."

"You deserve it," Brennan said as they reached the living room. She was somewhat awed by the place, and had to agree that Angela was right about the décor. The place was beautiful with its rich tones and mahogany wood tones.

"No Dr. Brennan, what you've done for me is overwhelming. I honestly can't thank you enough for the help and support you've offered me." She turned from Brennan and motioned for them to sit down in the living room as she left to get her kids. A fire burned in the fireplace, and despite the lack of decorations, the entire place held a very merry feel.

"So what do you think," Angela asked quietly to Brennan and Booth.

"This place is amazing. I haven't seen homes restored to this magnitude before."

"This was the original home my great great grandparents built when they bought this property. The main house was built later once Great Grandpa Lawrence made the family fortune. I just wanted to keep it up, you know?" Hodgins looked around the place with obvious pride in the opulent house.

"Temperance! Angela!" Alex and Haley jumped up and down excitedly and ran into the room to embrace the two women. "Thank you for the secret Santa gifts, they were the coolest ever."

"Well," Angela said as she looked at the two kids, "you can thank Booth for them. He's the one who made them, not me."

"Thank you Booth," they chorused before enveloping him in a hug. He smiled at the two kids and returned the gesture. This was one of the things he liked best about being a parent, and despite the fact that Haley and Alex weren't his; he couldn't stop the warmth spreading through his chest.

"Well you're welcome." He settled on the floor near the fireplace with the kids on either side of him. "So Sarah, what are your plans for Christmas Eve?"

"I work until ten and then we're going to midnight mass as always." Booth perked up and he glanced at Angela and Temperance.

"Hey, maybe you can go with Parker and me. We go to the Basilica every year for Christmas." Sarah smiled at the FBI agent and nodded.

"I'm sure the kids would love to go. They haven't stopped talking about Parker since you took them ice skating." Booth beamed at the words. Brennan was struck by how much the words meant to her partner, and how much he fit into a domestic type of lifestyle. This was a man that thrived on interactions like he had here, and with her disinterest in having children… No. She shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts trying to take up residence there. If he had a problem with her beliefs then they wouldn't be at the point they were today. She caught his gaze as it settled on her and flashed him a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. He returned it with one of his own, concern for her shining through.

"Great. Do you want to meet me there or shall I come here and we all go together?"

"Why don't we just meet here after I get off work? Once I clean up a bit, we can leave. That way no one gets lost in the crowd."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you here on Christmas Eve."

XxXxX

"Bones, are you okay? You seemed to be a bit lost there for a while." Booth glanced at her as they drove home that night. Angela made it clear that they would have to all pitch in with decorating while Sarah went with Booth to midnight mass. So long as everyone worked, then the place would be ready for them by the time they got home.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about how comfortable you looked in that setting is all."

"Hey, don't you go trying to talk yourself out of what we've started."

"I wasn't…"

"Yeah Bones, you were. I know what you worry about, and I can guarantee you that I like what we have and don't want anything to change."

"But our fundamental beliefs are so different. I know how much Parker means to you, and I wouldn't want to deprive you the opportunity to have a larger family…"

"When have I ever said that I wanted more kids?"

"Don't you? I mean you're Catholic, and generally someone as traditional as you…" Booth started laughing.

"Just because I'm Catholic does not mean that I want a bunch of kids. Hell, the fact that I have relationships outside of marriage and protect myself when those relationships get intimate isn't exactly in the doctrine of the church."

"But I thought you wanted more children. You're a wonderful father and an excellent provider. It's a natural assumption that you would want more progeny."

"I won't lie, it would be nice to have maybe another kid, but it's not an issue I'm going to push, especially with you. If you change your mind, I know you'd let me know, but until then, it's not an issue Bones. Besides, what we have going on right now is too new to even consider that possibility, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Do you feel better?"

"Yes I do. Thank you."

"Good, because when we get back to your place I plan to show you exactly how I feel about you."


	11. Chapter 11

"You aren't going to panic on me, are you," Booth asked as he wandered into his living room at two in the morning. Brennan was sitting on the couch and looking at the Christmas tree. She turned toward Booth and smiled, motioning with her head for him to join her.

"No, I just have problems sleeping somewhere new for the first time." Booth moved around and sat next to her, admiring the way the lights twinkled on the tree and casting a soft glow on the room. Outside, snow fell, muffling the sounds of a city that was never quite silent. He turned his attention onto Temperance, noting the contemplative look on her face as she continued to watch the twinkling fairly lights.

"What are you thinking about?" Temperance sighed and the corners of her mouth quirked up in a small smile.

"Russ and I used to wait by the fireplace every year for Santa to show up. We'd sit and stare because we just knew that if we concentrated hard enough we'd see Santa come down the chimney."

"Let me guess, you always fell asleep, right?" Booth swung a leg up onto the couch, and Temperance settled against him, laying her head on his shoulder as she continued to stare at the tree. She glanced back at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tighter against him.

"One year, when I was five years old as we sat by the fireplace we heard the sound of sleigh bells outside. My mom came in with a tray of cookies and mild and said that Santa wouldn't come down the chimney until we went to bed. Russ and I looked at each other and ran to our rooms because we didn't want him to skip the house."

"Sounds nice," Booth said, bringing his lips to the side of Temperance's neck. She let out a little sigh and tilted her head to allow him better access as he nibbled lightly along her skin.

"Mmmm, feels nice," she murmured. The speed at which they entered into their relationship felt both quick and completely natural. Ever since they began to work together they'd been moving toward this point. The attraction was always there, but it took some time before they were friends. By that point, their friendship overrode any attraction and it was easy to ignore the way they stirred up the other.

Maybe it was magic, like Angela seemed to think that brought them together. Something had changed the night they went to dinner and out shopping, but it was nothing tangible. It was just an overwhelming sensation that they were at a jumping off point and took that leap together.

Brennan ran her hands along his thighs, clutching at the muscle as she turned to meet his lips in a kiss. This new point in their relationship was exhilarating, and it amazed her to think of how Booth's mere presence was enough to comfort her when she was worried about something. There was one thing to her that meant more however. When she told him what she wanted to do for Sarah and the twins, he'd said he was proud of her. It seemed too long since anyone had been proud of her and her accomplishments. This man who could comfort her one moment and infuriate her the next also made her feel as if she belonged. He never seemed to judge her, and seemed to appear whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on. If she believed in protective supernatural beings, then she'd believe that he was her very own guardian angel.

Booth broke off their kiss, and as Temperance looked up at him in confusion, he stood and offered her his hand. She smiled and took it, following him to the bedroom and the safety of his arms.

XxXxX

"How long do we have to wait here Angela," Hodgins said as they stood just out of sight of the front door. He breathed hot air onto his hands hoping to warm them up a little bit.

"We'll wait here as long as is needed Jack," she hissed and then ducked back behind the side of the house. She, Hodgins, Zack and Temperance stood in wait for Sarah to leave with her children for midnight mass. The nurse and her two children exited the house, completely unaware of the group just around the corner.

"You know we could have just watched for them from Zack's apartment," Hodgins hissed at his girlfriend. She shot him a glare and held out a hand to keep him quiet as Sarah loaded her two children into the car and made sure they were strapped in properly.

"And we would lose valuable time because it's too far away. They're almost gone, and then we can head right into the house, no time wasted." Jack sighed and rolled his eyes at the somewhat warped logic. It would have only taken them a few minutes to get to the house once they knew Sarah was on her way out the front door, and they could have been warm in the process.

Angela peeked around the house again and gave a short wave to indicate that the coast was clear. Sarah was gone, and they only had about a three hour window in which to get all of their work done. She and Brennan picked up some boxes, while Zack and Hodgins dragged the tree that Angela had picked out. The artist was completely excited as they entered the house and bounced a bit on her toes.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun! I don't think I've ever made Christmas before. Guys, go ahead and set up the tree in the middle of the family room. Bren, let's get the rest of the boxes so we can start making this place shine." Angela set down her box and flounced out of the house for more supplies.

The four worked over the next few hours, Angela directing as the other three placed decorations on the tree, wreathes and garlands around the room, and even burgundy, green and gold decorations around the room along with some table settings. The Victorian feel of the house gave the entire arrangement a warmth that would have otherwise been absent. Temperance took a moment to pause and admire their work as Angela placed gifts around the tree just so. The artist turned when she felt her friend's gaze on her.

"Did you label all of these from Santa?" Angela held up another gift before putting it under the tree as well.

"Well I know that Sarah would think all of this charity, and I really want her to be able to just accept it as a gift."

"You know sweetie, when you think from the heart you blow people away. Not many people would go to this length to help out another person." Temperance shrugged as she looked at the tree.

"Sarah deserves it. She's had so much to deal with, and I think it's time she has something nice happen to her." Angela stood and gave her friend a hug.

"Well it's wonderful." She let go of Temperance and checked the time. Only ten minutes until they were expected home. "Okay guys we have to get out of here. They could be home any minute." Angela hurried away, picking up boxes and stray pieces of tinsel so the place would be spotless for the returning family. Brennan took one more moment to look at the work they'd done and smiled. Sarah and her kids were going to be so surprised.

XxXxX

"Mom," Haley said from her seat in the back of the car. "Do you think Santa's going to bring us anything?" Sarah glanced in the rearview mirror and sighed. Temperance and her friends had helped her so much over the past couple of weeks, but it was still a struggle for her to pick up anything for her kids. She thought about the meager pile of presents she'd scrimped to be able to give her kids. It wasn't much, and she hoped her children wouldn't be disappointed at the meager pile. Pushing the thoughts aside, she smiled at her daughter.

"I'm sure he'll remember to stop by. You just need to get right to bed so he won't…" She frowned as she looked at the house the Cantilever provided her. There was smoke coming out of the chimney and it looked as though lights were on in the living room.

"So he won't what?" Haley looked at her mom curiously and then at her brother who simply shrugged. Sarah stopped the car and turned around to face her children.

"Listen to me kids. Stay in the car until I say it's okay to get out."

"Mom, what's wrong?" Alex looked out the window and saw the smoke from the chimney. "Why's there a fire?"

"I don't know. I'm going to go in and take a look, but I need you to stay here, okay?" The two children nodded and watched as their mother got out of the car and headed toward the house slowly. Haley looked a little scared so her brother took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. As they stared at the light inside and the smoke coming from the chimney, Alex's eyes widened.

"Haley, you don't think that Santa's already been here do you?" His sister's eyes widened as well and both kids pressed their faces to the windows to get a better look at what was going on.

Sarah reached the front door and slowly pushed it open. Her heart pounded in her chest as she found the doorknob turning in her hand, the door clicking open. She couldn't hear anything inside the house and held her breath. If there was someone in here, they were being awfully quiet. She crept inside, wincing once as she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, but upon not hearing anything save the crackling of a fire in the other room, she proceeded forward.

When she reached the living room, she stopped in her tracks. Stockings hung on the mantle of the fireplace, chock full of goodies as a fire burned merrily in the hearth. A tree filled the middle of the room, fairy lights twinkling and reflecting off the colorful glass bulbs decorating its branches. It was what was under the tree however that caused her the most surprise. There was no way she was seeing this correctly.

Edging forward, she picked up one of the beautifully wrapped gifts and read the tag. She set the gift back as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Wiping them away with the back of her hand, she ran to the front door, unable to stop the smile that spread across her features.

"Haley, Alex, you've got to come see!" The two kids looked at each other and clambered out of the car, running for the house. When they reached the living room both of the kids stopped and looked around in awe. Haley turned a curious gaze to her mother, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Mom?"

"It looks like Santa made it after all." Sarah let out a small sob and gathered her children into her embrace, silently sending a prayer of thanks to god for the miracle before her.


	12. Chapter 12

Brennan woke up to the sound of knocking on her front door. She'd gotten home late after helping decorate Sarah's home and hadn't gone to bed until after two in the morning. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and sighed. Who would be here at six in the morning? She was fairly certain that Booth was still at home asleep, and even if he wasn't he wouldn't be here this early to pick her up.

Grumbling, she climbed out of bed and padded to the front door, running a hand down her face to try and wake up just a little bit. Yawning, she opened the door and gasped at what she saw there.

"Merry Christmas Tempe!" Russ, Amy and her two girls stood at the front door loaded up with all sorts of bags and gifts for Christmas Day. For a moment, Brennan was completely speechless as she stared at the group. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see us?"

"What? Yes of course I am. I was under the impression that you were having Christmas in Morehead." Brennan moved out of the way as everyone came into the apartment. She was still somewhat stunned by her brother's surprise.

"Amy and I talked and agreed that it just wasn't right to have you spend Christmas by yourself. We decided to come up so you'd have your family with you." Brennan wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and gave him a hug.

"Thank you Russ, really. This means the world to me." Russ gave his sister a little squeeze and pulled away. He led her to her couch and forced her to sit down.

"You stay here and we'll take care of everything else."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know I don't have to, but we want to, okay?" He gave his sister's arm a squeeze and began to unload the boxes and bags while Amy went to the kitchen to fix breakfast. Her two daughters, Haley and Emma sat with Brennan on the couch, practically bouncing in anticipation to open their gifts.

"Aunt Tempe, why don't you have any decorations up?" Emma looked around the apartment and blushed slightly at the look Russ shot her way for the question.

"I wasn't expecting to have anyone here for Christmas, so I didn't put up any decorations."

"But don't you want your home pretty for the holiday?" Brennan smirked at the question. If only they'd seen what she'd done last night for Sarah and her two children.

"I'm sure I'll take that into consideration for next year. Right now though, why don't you tell me what you asked Santa Claus for?" As both the girls began to chatter about their lists to Santa Claus, Russ looked up at his sister and smiled. Something good had changed in her life recently and he was pretty sure it was all the doing of Seeley Booth.

XxXxX

"Daddy, wake up! It's time to open gifts!" Parker jumped up and down on Booth's bed, a grin plastered across his face as he tried to wake up his father. Booth grumbled and pulled his quilt over his head.

"It's too early Parker."

"But you said that when we got up we could go get Dr. Bones and then we can open our presents." Parker jumped up and down some more, finally flopping onto his father's stomach, making Booth groan.

"Okay, okay fine. I'm up. Go wait in the other room so I can get dressed." Booth pulled the covers away from his head and looked at the clock. It was only seven in the morning, and he was sure that Brennan had a later evening than he had. He really didn't want to call her until a little later, but his enthusiastic son was demanding. As Parker bounced off into the other room, Booth grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed Brennan's number. After a few rings, she picked up the line.

"Merry Christmas Booth." Booth smiled on his end of the line and laid back against the pillows as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning beautiful and Merry Christmas to you. What is all that noise?" He could hear something in the background but wasn't sure what it was.

"Oh, Russ and Amy showed up to surprise me. They're here right now with Amy's girls."

"Oh, I guess you'll be spending Christmas with them then." Brennan could hear the disappointment in Booth's voice, though he tried to mask it.

"I did promise to join you and Parker you know. I don't break my promises."

"But I'm not going to pull you away from your family."

"Of course you aren't. Why don't you bring over Parker's gifts and you can join us over here? I'm sure Russ would be happy to see you again."

"Come on Bones, I don't want to intrude on your family time. You don't get to see your brother that often."

"And why do you assume that you're not my family? As I recall, we are in a relationship now." Booth chuckled at her response, and laughed more when he heard Russ ask when that had happened.

"Okay, okay. We'll be over in about half an hour, but we have to open the gifts then because I don't have Parker for too much longer today."

"I understand. I'll see you then Booth."

"See you in a few Bones." Booth flipped shut his phone and smiled as he climbed out of bed. It looked like Christmas was working out for Brennan more than she ever could have dreamed. He quickly threw on his clothes and went in search of his son so they could pack up and get to Temperance's apartment.

XxXxX

"Merry Christmas Dr. Bones," Parker said when Temperance answered the door. The little boy was practically wiggling in anticipation for gifts. Brennan smiled at him and stepped aside to let him run into the apartment while she shared a brief kiss with Booth.

"Merry Christmas to you Booth," she said when he kissed her once again.

"Same to you Bones." Brennan took some of the bags he was carrying from him and led the way into her apartment with Booth at her heels. The FBI agent nodded at Russ before heading to the tree to deposit the gifts there. Russ watched the interaction between his sister and the FBI agent, not quite sure what to think. When Booth brought him onboard during the investigation into his mother's death, Russ was sure that there was something going on between Booth and his sister. The FBI agent just seemed to care too much about Temperance to just be her partner.

When she'd visited him over the summer, Russ asked her about her relationship with Booth, but hadn't said much more than that they were just partners. Obviously something had changed between the pair and it was totally apparent that they were a couple, he was just wondering what the catalyst was for the change.

"Booth, have you eaten yet?" Booth looked over at Russ and shook his head in the negative. Russ brought over a plate of food for both Booth and Parker while Amy settled her girls down to eat as well. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How long have you and Tempe been together?"

"About a week and a half, why?" Russ smiled and shook his head.

"She's just different, that's all, but different in a good way." Booth glanced over at Temperance as she talked with Amy and the girls over breakfast. She caught his eye and smiled at him before she turned back to her conversation.

"Yeah, but that comes of imparting a little holiday cheer."

"What do you mean?" Booth looked at Brennan once more and launched into the story of her playing secret Santa to the nurse and her two kids. She had changed so much over the past year, opening herself up to people and allowing them to truly care about her without questioning their motives. Her generous heart finally had an outlet and he had to admit that when she put her mind toward helping others, the results were breathtaking.

As he finished his tale, Russ just shook his head, amazed. "I'm sure you had something to do with the idea."

"No, she came up with the idea on her own. That woman is special Russ."

"Yeah, but she wouldn't be that way if it weren't for your influence."

"Bones is that way despite my influence. She's just opened herself up a little more is all."

"Well whatever it is, it's great to see her like this, so thanks man." Russ clapped the agent on the shoulder and turned back to his meal. Booth took a moment to look around the apartment and the obvious joy filling the space. It felt more like home than he could ever imagine, and he only hoped that every year would get better as she gained more family. Brennan looked over at him once more, smiling as their gazes locked. No matter what, he thought as he looked at her, he would try to bring her as much happiness as he could. That was his Christmas gift to her…make sure she could have some cheer all year long.

"Is everyone done eating yet? I think it's time for some presents," Brennan said as the three kids chorused their enthusiasm. As everyone gathered by her fireplace where the presents had been stacked, she took a seat next to Booth and gave his hand a squeeze. He'd given her more than he ever thought possible. He'd given her a family again. As he called out for Parker to hand round the gifts, he wrapped his arm around Brennan. She smiled and leaned into his side. Though she worried about her ability to maintain long term relationships, she knew one thing with certainty. Booth was more than a relationship, he was her family, and after all, that's what the season was about. Family.


End file.
